Create an Elegant, but Easy Cheese and Meat Board in Minutes

updated September 2019

My neighbor loves Halloween so much that she coordinated a progressive fall-inspired dinner party for our street. I volunteered to host appetizers. My goal was to keep it simple and look to Italy and Spain for inspiration on an elegant, but easy cheese and meat board that could be put together in minutes. 

In 2015, I went on a press trip to a winery in the Marche region of Italy. The event set-up was simple, elegant, and perfect for tapas before a meal. I decided to do something similar with my own spin for this neighborhood get-together. 

Liza loves Disney's Descendants movies.  Last year, she knew she wanted to be the character, Mal, for Halloween. In my house, the song, "Ways to Be Wicked" is continuously played.  I decided to have a little fun with a "Ways to be Wicked" song. The lyrics say, 
                                  

"Apple, apple dip, dip

Wanna try it?

Tick, tick

Take a bite, c'mon, be bold

Change the way the story's told."

Descendants. Apples. Villians. Evil Queen. It all fell into place.

I used fresh apples for my centerpiece decorations, and the fall fruit is in season right now. An apple, from tart to sweet, goes wonderfully with an Italian-inspired meat and cheese board.

I ordered apples from my Papa Spud's produce box delivery service. Apples were in abundance and cost-effective. I purchased everything else from Trader Joe's in less than an hour. 

Here's what I bought at Trader Joe's for my "Ways to Be Wicked" Inspired Party

Sparkling Apple Cider (non-alcoholic)

Draft Apple Cider

White wine

Bread Sticks

Several types of crackers

Goat Cheese with Herbs

A Spanish Cheese sampler with Manchego, Iberico, and Cabra Al Vino

Sliced Aged Cheddar Cheese

Two varieties of pears (One sweet and one standard pear)

Several cartons of the store's seasonal Greek Yogurt called, "Trader Joe's Apple-Caramel Whole Milk Greek Yogurt." 

Dried Apricots

Organic Trek Mix with Cashews, Almonds and dried Cranberries

Italian Hard Salami 

Two appetizer snack packs with Genoa salami cut like apple shapes and provolone slices. 

Sliced Prosciutto 

Red Grapes

I have two cheese boards that are simple and look like cutting boards. I also used three small glass dishes to hold olives, nuts in trek mix, and dried apricots. 

I placed the four kinds of cheese on the cheese first. I used the goat cheese on another platter separately with crackers, pears, and apples. For my hard cheese platter, I placed my nut bowl and my dried apricot bowl on the board. I put a few sliced apples on the tray, crackers, and red grapes for garnish. Presto. The cheese board was filled in no-time. 

On a round cheese board, I placed olives in a bowl in the middle. I then surrounded the olives with crackers, cheese, genoa salami, and hard salami slices. 

For my third platter, I took the olive oil appetizer breadsticks and wrapped Prosciutto around each one. I used apples and grapes for garnish. 

I was amazed at how quickly I was able to create these elegant but a simple cheese and meat tray for this party in minutes. I think the total time may have been 15 minutes for all the three trays. 

I used the Apple-Caramel Grek yogurt dip with and apple slices. 

I really thought this was a no-fuss party idea and I will do it again. It did not take a lot of work, but yet, it looked like it did.  The hit of the night was the yogurt dip and the soft goat cheese. It all worked well because I had meat-eaters and vegetarians in attendance. 

Another neighbor served lasagna after my get-together, and my other neighbor served a homemade limoncello cake. It was a great night.

Pin for a future Halloween Party Idea