Fall Inspired Cheese Board filled with some of my favorite things! Whether you are making a small cheese plate for the family, or having a small gathering at home, a cheese plate is guaranteed to make everyone happy!
How is everyone feeling these days?
Let’s be honest. We’re in a weird space right now. Everything is different. We’re still in the middle of a pandemic, we have an upcoming election, a lot of us are still working from home and the kids are at home as well.
As I sit here in my apartment writing this, I have different sounds flooding my ears. My oldest daughter is in her bedroom attending French class and I can hear her French teacher, my husband in the bedroom next to her working and on a conference call and my youngest daughter here in the living room with me attending science class. My cat is also running around like a maniac. He needs space. Or, maybe a cheese board.
Fall Inspired Cheese Board
These days, there are moments of happiness for me. Exercising, going outside, going on bike rides, cooking and yes, you guessed it: putting together a cheese plate. Making these are like therapy for me. From choosing what cheese and what fruit I am going to use, to thinking about the color theme, to thinking about how I’m going to slice everything. I try to treat these like art. And, you get to eat them afterwards.
THE CHEESE
Pleasant Ridge Reserve from Uplands Cheese in Wisconsin (if you ever find this in your grocery store, buy it). “Pleasant Ridge Reserve is an aged, alpine-style cheese. Like the coveted, alpage versions of Beaufort and Gruyere, Pleasant Ridge is made only in the summer months, while our cows are grazing fresh pasture.” Featured above with the cheese knife in it. This cheese is one of my favorite Wisconsin cheeses.
I found this at Whole Foods yesterday along with Fabes Fontina Fontal Italian, Provolone, Fresh Mozzarella Cheese pearls (Madeline’s favorite) and a St. Andre Triple Cream, so good!
EVERYONE NEEDS NUTKRACK
Ever since I tasted Nutkrack for the first time in Madison, Wisconsin, I was hooked. These are a staple on my cheese boards, along with Marcona almonds. You need both. Enjoy 20% off Nutkrack using this promo code: FOODIEMOM20. You can shop here.
“Nutkrack is a very simple snack. Our classic flavor has only four ingredients: pecans, sugar, oil and salt. While our product is simple, we are not. Nutkrack is the only healthy, sweet and salty snack that truly inspires values-driven customers to find joy and connection through food. We give our customers and friends the chance to share something extraordinary with the people they love, and feel great about doing it!”
“Nutkrack began as a mistake. Eric Rupert, a chef in Madison for over 40 years, was hard at work in the kitchen, the stovetop crowded with pots and pans, when he accidentally dropped some pecan halves into the wrong pot. When he saw them again later, he stopped and looked more closely. They had a perfect, shiny glaze as though they had been intentionally and carefully prepared. He tasted one, and was surprised at how crunchy and delicious it was. Over the next hour, he ate them all. He added salt to a second batch, and shared them with family and friends. They were a unanimous hit, and a tradition was born: Eric would prepare these accidental treats as holiday gifts, and he did so for years.”
HOW YOU CAN HELP AND GIVE BACK
My friends at Nutkrack reached out and let me know that they came out with a new product, their Everything Pecans. Right now, for every bag sold, they will donate $8 to the Goodman Community Center. The Goodman Center uses the funds for a wide variety of needs ranging from their food pantry to child care needs to training at risk teens interviewing and job skills. Even if you don’t live in Madison, Wisconsin, I hope you will consider purchasing the fabulous pecans so a portion of that sale can go to the Goodman Center.
$8 from every sale will go to support the efforts of the amazing staff and volunteers at the Goodman Community Center.
