Cheese to food lovers is like icing to cakes — they just belong together. If you’re a foodie yourself, you’ve likely heard of Marissa Mullen before. The Brooklyn-based content creator and food stylist is taking the world by storm, one cheese plate at a time. And now, she’s made the ultimate charcuterie board anyone can try at home.
The Cheese Plate to End All Cheese Plates
Mullen’s debut book, That Cheese Plate Will Change Your Life, was an absolute hit with hosts and cheese lovers around the world who now know how to make showstopping grazing boards that leave their guests insanely impressed (and hungry!). To help you, too, Mullen has shared her insights on how to assemble the perfect charcuterie board at home and wow everyone, including yourself.
How to Make This Cheese Board
Mullen’s cheese board includes 10 of her best tips that anyone, chef or not, can apply and experiment with.
Cheese Plate Ingredients
Start by prepping the following ingredients:
- Cheeses — Brie, soft-ripened goat cheese, dill Havarti, truffle pecorino
- Meats — Genoa salami, salami piccante
- Produce — dried figs, dried cranberries, raspberries, Castelvetrano olives, green grapes
- Crunch — candied nuts, shortbread cookies, Marcona almonds, flatbread crackers, fruit-and-nut crackers
- Garnish — fresh rosemary
- Dips — honeycomb
Mullen’s Tips for Cheese Board Domination
- Use a solid foundation for your cheese plate. Pick boards or plates that have a small lip around the edge, so things don’t fall off in transit.
- The placement sequence is key. Marissa suggests these steps: 1) cheese, 2) meat, 3) produce, 4) crunch/crackers, 5) dips, and 6) garnish.
- Aim for a variety of milks (sheep, goat, cow), and pick three to five cheeses. Make sure there is a variety in textures, too (soft, hard, bloomy). Before servings, keep the cheeses out of the fridge for about 45 minutes to fully enjoy their flavor and texture.
- Use a cookie cutter for semisoft cheeses to create fun and whimsical shapes.
- To make Mullen’s mouthwatering Brie brûlée, grab a round Brie and cut off its top. Then, coat it with sugar and torch it till brown. Alternatively, you can put it in the oven over high for a few minutes.
- To create a classic and totally Instagrammable “salami river” to spice up your grazing board, fold the salami slices in half twice and tuck the bottom ends into the top opening of the next slice.
- Always add a dip. Always. (e.g., pair the intensity of blue cheese with the sweetness of honeycomb)
- Add a few crackers on the board to get people started, but don’t forget to serve a separate cracker plate for easy refilling.
- Any cheese board needs a good and fresh garnish. Think fresh herbs like thyme and rosemary.
- To get that mic drop moment, buy a set of linens or a bouquet of flowers that match the colors on your cheese plate so the entire tablescape ties together perfectly.
Yes, making the perfect cheese board is that easy. Go wild!