PARTNER POST – Be inspired to create beautiful cheese boards with Castello cheese. And what goes better with cheese than wine? Enter to win a trip for two to Napa, California.
Create a romantic cheese board with the perfect combination of cheeses, condiments, and even homemade, buttery crackers.
By Keith Jackie
Nothing says “love” like a big plate of cheese, as far as I am concerned. Whether it’s Valentine’s Day or just a Friday night at home on the couch, a good cheese board can make my toes curl. Imagine our elation when our friends at Castello provided us with some of their Danish Blue and Harvarti, and told us to “have at it” for their cheese board challenge.
Not to be outdone, Keith created some incredible homemade three cheese crackers to personalize our superman cooks cheese board. They added a unique touch that made me never want to buy boxed cheese crackers again. And it all disappeared quite quickly when accompanied by the blackberry, raspberry and black pepper spice tones of Folie à Deux Dry Creek Valley Zinfidel.
Having made many a cheese board over his culinary career, Keith suggests the following tips to give your cheese board that extra-special something:
-Use different types of cheese: sharp, creamy, yellow, white and possibly a unique type (we rolled a havarti in freshly ground pepper for effect).
-Make sure there is a balance of savory and sweet accents. We used bacon relish, truffle honey. Different mustards and jellies also work.
-Round out the board with great tasting accoutrements: olives, a sliced baguette, artichokes, peppers, pickles and special crackers.
-Choose the correct serving “canvas”: a beautifully finished wood or a slate board. Garnish with colorful flowers to accent the board
Now head over to Castello and enter to win trip for two full of wine and cheese Napa! Enter here.
Plus, try making this sweet and spicy carrot chutney, another delicious addition to a cheese board.
PrintHomemade Three Cheese Crackers Perfect for a Cheese Board
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 to 10 dozen crackers 1x
Description
Create a romantic cheese board with the perfect combination of cheeses, condiments, and even homemade, buttery crackers.
Ingredients
- 8 oz extra sharp cheddar cheese (shredded)
- ½ C grated Parmesan cheese
- ¼ C grated Romano cheese
- 4 ounces salted butter (extra cold)
- ¼ tsp onion powder
- 1 C all-purpose flour
- 2–3 Tbsp ice water
Instructions
- Using a food processor with a blade (chopper) attachment, pulse the cheeses, flour, and onion powder together 4 pulses.
- Cut butter into ¼ inch pieces and add to mixture.
- Pulse until mix is crumbly.
- Slowly add water 1 tbsp at a time and pulse until mixture is “mealy”.
- Transfer to a bowl and cover, then refrigerate for at least an hour.
- Remove and dump mixture onto table and form ball with dough.
- Place ball of dough between 2 pieces of parchment paper and roll out with rolling-pin to ? thick.
- The thinner the dough the better.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Using a pizza cutter, cut dough into 1 inch x ½ inch pieces.
- With a chop stick of skewer, poke 2 holes into each cracker.
- Continue until all crackers have been made.
- Transfer to baking sheet and sprinkle with salt.
- Bake in oven for 14-17 minutes until crackers are slightly brown.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Appetizer, Side
I’m anxious to try these but would need to make them ahead. Can these be stored in a tin and used later? Thanks