In the fifties, our parents might have put out platters of cheese and crackers when they had friends over for cocktails; it was the height of chic to set out a lovely silver tray or a wicker basket with slices of Swiss and saltines, and maybe a bowl of red maraschino cherries, or “pigs in blankets” with toothpicks.   Well, we’ve come a long way, baby.  These days, the idea of a welcoming appetizer has blossomed into an art form, and thanks to the internet, we now routinely see amazing photos of exquisite displays.  There are round charcuterie boards with cured meats like prosciutto or Genoa salami and sophisticated cheeses, there are long boards with stacks of carrots and celery laid out in rows or in compartmentalized lucite trays; there are even boards laden with fruit, marshmallows, and bowls of hot fudge, or watermelon slices with toppings that resemble a sort of dessert pizza, and so many others.  Ideas are limitless, bound only by one’s imagination.  It’s become trendy to set out a lovely board or platter to welcome guests, provide a grazing table, or a do-it-yourself dessert.

Of course, for the past year, home entertaining has been on hiatus as we all hunkered down with books, Netflix, and our household “pod.”  But it’s summer, life is, dare we say, normalizing, and we’ve begun to see friends and family again.  Cooking videos, blogs, and magazines are filled with colorful ideas of how to welcome us back together.  We here at Food and Friendship have been collecting photos of some of the best boards we’ve seen, each one a little more bountiful, a little more “wow” and a little more complicated!  But last week, Pascale Beale, one of our local celebrities, a cookbook writer and cooking class teacher, a farmers market devotee who is eager to share her bounty on social media, came up with what we thought was the best one yet — a large board filled to the brim with fresh local organic vegetables, but arranged in such an artful almost 3-D manner, it nearly took our breath away!

 

We decided to try our hand at this …and here’s our result! The main thing that sets these apart from your normal crudite platters are the way Pascale showed us how to use vertical placement whenever possible — so it looks like the veggies are actually growing out of a garden! That’s what elevates these from appetizers to art!! 🙂

We’d love to know how you’ve begun to entertain again, and if you have a large plank or a long tray, why not try your hand at an appetizer board?  We think Monet with his Giverny garden and Van Gogh with his still life oils would have jumped on this bandwagon, and we hope you do too!