How I Make a Killer Cheese Plate. (Plus 3 Mini Cheeseballs.)
I get tell you about my most favorite thing ever!
ALL THE CHEESE.
Wait. Let’s hope that “all the” phrases are phased out in 2015, right? Actually, they probably were in 2014 and I’m always annoyingly way behind.
Is it embarrassing that I’m showing you how I make my favorite cheese plate? It might be. This is actually a part of the snacks chapter in Seriously Delish (hi, please buy it for everyone for Christmas!) and just maaaaay be the best “recipe” in that chapter?
It’s obviously not an exact recipe, but it’s my method for a cheese plate to please.
I also like to make smaller versions and then force Eddie to eat them for dinner. He is slowly coming around to cheese plates for dinner. Maybe like… once every six months?
So.
This cheese plate is extra special because I’m sharing three little cheeseball recipes that are oh-so excellent. You can make one big cheeseball or these adorable mini ones and then go to town.
Eat them for lunch.
Lots of crackers.
Wine! OMG WINE. I CAN NOW HAVE WINE!
Here’s what we’ve got:
Bacon, blue cheese and pistachio cheeseballs!
I know.
Yes yes.
Caramelized onion, gruyere and roasted cashew cheeseballs. This is so a thing.
An amazing thing.
AND… pineapple, toasted almond and goat cheese cheeseballs. Cannot get enough.
These adorable little cheese puff spreads can be made waaaay ahead of time and thrown on your cheese plate at the last second. Get a pretty knife and lots of flatbread and baguettes.
Cheeseballs are famous in my family – my grandma used to make one for every occasion, and now my mom makes it just as often if not more.
She’s probably slightly horrified at my trashed up versions, but they are worth it.
WORTH.IT.
As for the actual cheese plate?
Let’s be real: one thing I don’t really ever put on my cheese plates? Vegetables. I just can’t. Unless we’re talking about pickled green beans or something, veggies are few and far between.
Everyone wants cheese anyway!
I always use a firm aged cheddar and/or gouda – these are usually safe for people who aren’t crazy cheese lovers. A super hard cheese works too – like an asiago that flakes apart with a pretty cheese knife or my favorite – a merlot soaked parmesan. Soft goat cheese makes one or two appearances, depending on the crowd, and you know I can’t ever leave out my beloved humboldt fog. A blue cheese – I prefer smoked, is the best addition and if I have the time and space, I’ll warm up something soft like brie or camembert and toss it in the middle.
Can this be my breakfast?
Mandatory for me: a boatload of jams, spreads and chutneys. I love to add three or four different mustards because I’m mustard obsessed. A few fruit based jams or butters, along with a savory (hot pepper! Merlot!) jam and almost always a fig spread.
Oh and honey! Good old honey. You could use a honeycomb or some raw honey or just a big fat drizzle of the sweet stuff.
Always present: a good baguette or two, plus sesame crackers, little toasts, hard breadsticks, water crackers and jazz like that. Anything bready. Spread lots of cheese and jam on top.
Fresh or dried fruits always rock a good cheese plate – but I prefer to keep it simple and use things that people can easily grab. Fresh or dried figs, dried pears and pineapple, grapes that can be yanked off the stem, bing cherries if they are in season.
It wouldn’t be a cheese plate in our house without meats, so I always grab a hard salami or two, some thinly sliced prosciutto and maybe even pepperoni. This is one scenario where I love the meat on the tray too – it’s not just dictated by Eddie.
Finally, I scatter on lots of nuts and seeds – you can use bowls or just throw them on the tray – and my favorite are the super seasoned marcona almonds, often tossed in olive oil. SO GOOD.
Yep. So that’s that. This is a serious appetizer, easily a dinner, or perfect for a cocktail party with another snack or two and a dessert. I can’t get enough – and it’s simple to make it look pretty too – just toss everything together.
Now I don’t want to eat anything else for the rest of the day.
How To Make a Killer Cheese Plate (and 3 Mini Cheeseball Recipes)
Ingredients
- blue cheese, bacon + pistachio cheeseball
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 4 ounces smoked blue cheese
- 6 slices bacon, crumbled
- 2/3 cup pistachios chopped
- pinch of salt and pepper
- pineapple, goat cheese + toasted almond cheeseball
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 4 ounces goat cheese
- 1/3 cup diced fresh pineapple
- 2/3 cup toasted sliced almonds
- pinch of salt and pepper
- caramelized onion, gruyere + cashew cheeseball
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 sweet onion, sliced
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 4 ounces gruyere, freshly grated
- 2/3 cups cashews, chopped
Instructions
blue cheese, bacon + pistachio cheeseball
- In a bowl, combine the cream cheese, blue cheese, bacon, 3 tablespoons of the pistachios, salt and pepper. Stir well to combine and mash it all together, then form it into 4 or 6 small cheeseballs. Roll each in the chopped pistachios to cover. Store in the fridge until ready to serve.
pineapple, goat cheese + toasted almond cheeseball
- In a bowl, combine the cream cheese, goat cheese, pineapple, 3 tablespoons of the almonds, salt and pepper. Stir well to combine and mash it all together, then form it into 4 or 6 small cheeseballs. Roll each in the chopped almonds to cover. Store in the fridge until ready to serve.
caramelized onion, gruyere + cashew cheeseball
- In a small skillet, heat the butter over low heat. Add the onion and salt, stirring to coat, then cook until the onion softens, about 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in the brown sugar and cook until the onions are caramely, about 8 to 10 minutes. In a bowl, combine the cream cheese, gruyere, caramelized onions, 3 tablespoons of the cashews, salt and pepper. Stir well to combine and mash it all together, then form it into 6 or 8 small cheeseballs. Roll each in the chopped cashews to cover. Store in the fridge until ready to serve.
CHEESE PLATE
- aged cheese: aged cheddar, aged gouda
- hard cheese: merlot soaked parmesan, asiago, parmigiano-reggiano
- goat/chevre cheese: truffled goat, humboldt fog
- soft/semi-soft cheese: brie, camembert
- blue cheese: smoked blue, gorgonzola, buttermilk blue
- breads: baguettes, hard sesame breadsticks, whole wheat crackers, water crackers, crostini, flatbreads, bagel or pita chips
- charcuterie: paper thin prosciutto, hard salami sticks, pepperoni
- jams + chutneys: fig preserves, quince paste, hot pepper jelly, sour cherry preserves, bacon marmalade, apple and berry chutneys, honey
- fruits + nuts: grapes, dried and fresh figs, dried apricots and pears, shelled pistachios, marcona almonds, smoked almonds, pepitas
- tart + briney snacks: cornichons, olive medleys, marinated artichoke hearts, pickled green beans, roasted red peppers, balsamic glaze, pickled jalapeño peppers, whole grain mustard, hot and sweet mustard
Did you make this recipe?
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I appreciate you so much!
this is probably what my heaven looks like.
102 Comments on “How I Make a Killer Cheese Plate. (Plus 3 Mini Cheeseballs.)”
The worst thing when you are with child is soft cheese is off the menu ( along with all these foods). My sister had your exact same cravings!
I want to stuff my face with those cheese balls, cured hams and crackers! The styling in these are perfect. Can I come over? I’ll bring the wine ; )
I have ruined my last two night’s dinners by stuffing my face with pear and Gorgonzola, aka my heaven on earth, so this post really spoke to me. :) Hope you’re doing well and feeling great! Congrats again!
Can I be the first to say this would be a dream dinner for my cheese-loving family? Seriously delish! :)
These are some of the prettiest pictures I have ever seen–and I’m not even a big cheese fan (I know I know..I’m working on it!)
I went to a friends house the other night and she had a cheese tray out and I decided to venture out–I tried a combo of brie, pear, pecan, and honey–omg amazing. I bought all the ingredients and have had it at home about a million times.
Thanks for more cheese plate inspiration!
Those cheese balls are NOT trashed up…more CLASSED up….the cheese balls I remember from youth were labelled “processed cheese food”. I understood the “processed” part, but the ” cheese food” part always bothered me…
Yay for being able to have wine again! It’s a glorious thing, I tell ya. This looks incredible (LOVE the pictures)! I am sooooooo into those cheese balls. Need to try them out STAT.
Oh heavens yes. I’m making these cheeseballs just so I can say CHEESEBALLS. Am I really 31?
This is absolutely magnificent. Yay for wine and soft cheese and cheeseballs and MAX!!!!!!!!!! <3 <3 <3
My husband and I LOVE cheese plates! We first started ordering them on a trip to Europe a couple of years ago and now whenever we go out to a nice restaurant we have to order one! Now I can’t wait to make a restaurant worthy cheese plate at home!! :D
Ugh, this is my dream come true. I could live on cheese and charcuterie for the rest of my life and be pretty satisfied. Maybe with some sushi thrown in every once in a while ;)
OMG I WANT THAT! That looks amazing. Like that is the cheese plate end all and be all heaven!! Pinned! That melty brie, omg. YES.
OMG! Humboldt Fog! I tried it for the first time this past summer at a wine/beer/cheese bar on the Outer Banks. Who ever knew an ash layer could taste so good? What’s even better? My sister-in-law told me she found Humboldt Fog in a cheese shop in my hometown. I know what I’m buying when I go home for Christmas next week.
You are the cheese plate queen. Officially.
You definitely know how to please me! x
http://www.wild-cherrytree.com
That is quite possibly the most beautiful charcuterie picture I have ever seen. I am literally making it my phone background right now. Holy cheese.
That is a beauty! I would love to dig into that cheese board right now.
Jessica — Did you know that there is a store devoted entirely to mustard now on the Upper West Side of Manhattan? http://maille.us/
And it’s been termed “heroic” by Racked.com
http://ny.racked.com/archives/2014/12/12/maille_mustard_store_nyc.php
Just thought you should know, given your love of all things mustardy.
And Max is gorgeous!
This is my favorite type of dinner! What type of wine or better yet wines do you usually serve?
I was just thinking I need to look up some recipes for cheese balls for Christmas (I remember your pomegranate studded cheeseball from a while back), but now I don’t have to! I’m nursing (5 week old!) so wine is sadly still off the menu but I can now finally have soft cheese again, totally planning to take full advantage of that over the holiday season! Thank you for the great tips!
Dang youuuu! Your cheese plate is better than my cheese plate. But now I know your secrets. muwahahahaaaaa!
Gahhhh this is the dream….. No entree required.
Heaven indeed! I was already planning to make a cheese plate inspired by your book for Christmas and now I will have to add that onion, gruyere, cashew cheese ball.
It must’ve taken A LOT of work to prepare recipes and posts for once Max arrived so, thank you for that! Reading your blog everyday is happiness for me and you’ve been a source of inspiration as of late. My best friend is due with her second baby (a girl, finally!) on December 31st and I plan to make her lots of delicious things from your book. Looking to forward to what you have in store for the coming week. Most importantly, congratulations on your little guy–he looks like he’s the sweetest!
Oh my, this is awesome stuff :) Inspired for my next party, gotta have all the cheese!
That first photo made my mouth water instantly! I want that for lunch and dinner!
This looks so yummy! Perfect for the holiday season.
Gah this is such perfect timing, I was planning on bringing a big hearty cheese plate to a Christmas party this weekend. I knew I’d seen you write something somewhere about cheese plates, and voila! It was in your book and now it’s here. Can’t wait to try this out!
I don’t even know where to start expressing the joy this post gives me. Totally awesome!!!!
This is my ultimate dinner! My husband would disagree though, so I never ever make anything like this for dinner. Maybe I should send him off and have a night to myself? :)
Jam and toasted bread are MUSTS for moi! And brie, and nuts, and honey…okay EVERYTHING.
My jaw dropped at the pineapple goat cheese bal, WOWZA!
You just make me smile.
LOve.
Oh my gosh, can I come over for your cheese plate breakfast (who wants to wait for a party?!)? THIS LOOKS AMAZING.
Omg, you make cheese look sooo awesome!! sigh! I could live in this post!
I’m not going to lie – this post made me have a bit of anxiety. Like holy heck i’m going to buy the wrong cheese or the wrong jams and I don’t own any flat litle cute knives to even cut cheese with and omg that’s a lot of options i’m kind of a pick 3 or 4 things so I don’t get overwhelmed type of girl but I won’t lie If I didn’t have to BUILD the cheese plate I’d be all over that… now the carmelized onion cheese ball…. that might need to get in my belly asap…
Holy Crapoly! That cheese platter looks amazing. I usually just skip over these posts because it seems like it’s overdone, but this is unique and I love it. Like absolutely love it! Those mini cheese balls mmmmmmmmmm
I know you posted it whenever, but you totally forgot the red pepper/bacon/goat cheese/pistachio cheese ball. So good and such a hit with my friends. Now I’m excited to try some others-smoked blue cheese, huh? Interesting..
Oh my WORD. This looks amazing! Gaaaaahhh cheese balls ftw. Is ftw phased out too?? I’m always centuries behind also…
Heaven is right. This is dinner perfection for me.
Those cheese balls look great. I love a good cheese plate with crackers.
I’m glad all that deliciousness is there and not in my house…i would be liable to eat it all! Fantastic job :)
Happy Blogging!
Happy Valley Chow
This is all I want to eat… all day… every single day…
This is the best thing I have ever seen ever ever ever!!! 100% doing this for a news years eve appetizer party! In my pajamas :)
These cheese plate pictures are glorious!!!
I am so on board with this! Luckily my hubby loves a cheese platter too, and he always insists on smoked mussels. We have it for dinner maybe a bit too often. ;)
Amazing post!
These cheese dishes send me to heaven!
Fresh and dried fruits with cheese is my always favorite.
No dinner needed with a cheese plate like this!!! Drooling!
Jess, I am BLOWN away by how quickly you’re blogging! The little guys is precious and the posts since he come to stay are great! YOU ROCK!!!
Cheese plates are always SO PERFECT for the holiday parties. I’m definitely going to borrow some of your suggestions for our upcoming cookie swap! Pinned!
Have a great day!
I love this idea and no one can ever turn down a cheese plate. do you have a recommendation for a mild bleu cheese? or a substitute. I am not a huge fan of bleu cheese (so sorry) please don’t block me, I worship your blog :)
Now this is a proper cheese plate! I love it! Totally making the blue cheese ball for Christmas Eve appetizer time and most probably my lunch today. Great post!I
I just had Marcona Almonds at Thanksgiving time, my mom bought them and they are freaking fantastic!
All the cheeses look fantastic, but I think I’m going to start with the pineapple, goatcheese and toasted almond. I just love pineapple anything.