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Prep time
15 minutes
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Serves
6 to 8 as an appetizer
Author Notes
This classic holiday cheese board is not only festive, it's easy to transport! Baskets are a great way to establish a rustic theme, while simultaneously providing a convenient appetizer to carry to your gathering (or, you know, your living-room floor), mess-free. To achieve the look of this creation, I placed a glass round plate at the base of the basket for my stable surface to build on. For another classic holiday look, you can build a cheese board out of a cornucopia! Layer your cheese and meats to flow out the opening of the cone. I'd recommend building this one on site, so you don't need to move it.
Below, you'll see instructions for how to put together this cheese basket using the Cheese by Numbers method. You'll also need a few supplies before getting started:
1 round basket, 16 inches in diameter
1 round plate, 13 inches in diameter
One 4-ounce ramekin
Happy cheese plating! —Marissa Mullen
Ingredients
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6 ounces
(one round) soft-ripened goat cheese
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6 ounces
Gruyère
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6 ounces
washed rind cow’s milk cheese, such as Epoisses or Taleggio
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4 ounces
salami di Parma, thinly sliced
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4 ounces
dried figs, cut in half
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4 ounces
dried apricots, cut in half
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3 ounces
dried cranberries
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1 ounce
pomegranate seeds
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1
box fruit and nut crackers
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3 ounces
candied walnuts
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1
jar fig jam
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1 bunch
fresh thyme
Directions
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Set your foundation. Place your plate in the basket and add a ramekin and mini gourd.
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With a sharp knife, slice the Gruyère into long, thin rectangles. Slice the round of soft-ripened goat cheese in half, and keep the wheel of washed-rind cheese whole (whether it's a round or wedge). Spread out the different cheeses evenly on the plate.
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Fold the salami in half, and in half again. Layer this down the center of the plate in a curved shape to make our "salami river."
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Create “produce ponds” around the plate, filled in with dried figs, dried apricots, and dried cranberries. Once those are on the plate, sprinkle pomegranate seeds over the dried figs to add a pop of color.
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Fill in the rest of the empty gaps with the crackers and mixed nuts.
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In the empty ramekin, scoop in the fig jam.
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Garnish the plate with sprigs of fresh thyme.
Marissa Mullen is a Brooklyn-based food stylist, recipe developer, photographer and cheese lover. She is the founder of That Cheese Plate and creator of the Cheese By Numbers method. She is also the author of the best-selling cookbook, That Cheese Plate Will Change Your Life, a step-by-step styling guide for crafting beautiful and delicious cheese plates as a form of creative expression. Featured on The Today Show, The Rachael Ray Show, Business Insider, Vox among others, Marissa is dedicated to bringing people together through creativity, food and entertainment.
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