We’re a couple of weeks away from Mother’s Day so it is absolutely time to start planning Mother’s Day brunch, lunch or dinner. We’ve rounded up a few of our favorite items that would a great addition to any Mother’s Day gathering. Not only are these items perfect for the occasion but they are colorful, classic and dainty and can be used throughout the spring and for years to come.
We hope that you love these items as much as we do and as always, if you decide to pick up any of these favs. be sure to let us know!
So, it’s almost the first of December and we are all officially in a mad dash to find the perfect gift for everyone on our list. If you’re anything like us, you are looking for gifts that are unique, thoughtful and inexpensive. You want to find gifts that the recipient will actually appreciate and use not just toss into a corner or worse, re-gift.
To help you out in your search for the perfect gift, we have put together eleven items, all under $30.00, that would make thoughtful gifts for the charcuterie lover in your life. These items would also make perfect gifts for co-workers, you children’s teachers, your doctor or dentist or your manager. All of these items can be used when building at-home charcuterie boards or when serving one of our boards at your next gathering (I know, it was a shameless plug, but we had to do it!).
We hope that this guide makes selecting the perfect gift for that special someone in your life a bit easier.
We love cheese markers. If you have read our, 25 Things to Consider When Serving a Charcuterie Board list, then you would know that we highly suggest labeling cheeses on a charcuterie board. While these markers don’t have the names of specific cheeses, we still love that they help guests quickly identify the type of cheeses available. Also, they are a cute addition to any board as they help to dress it up and make it look extra special.
A charcuterie related gift guide just isn’t complete without a set of cheese knives. These knives are beautifully crafted and will be a welcomed addition to anyone’s kitchen. Their sleek and clean design means that they fit a variety of decor styles. If you ask us, you can never have too many cheese knives.
This beautiful honey dipper is part of our collection, and we just love it. It is weighty, beautiful and functional. This dipper is an easy way to add a little pizzaz to a charcuterie board.
This large board is at a great price point and is the perfect size for serving a group of 4-6 people. This board has two handles which makes it a dream to carry and transport. At $27.00 this board is the perfect gift for a co-worker or for someone who loves hosting intimate gatherings.
This gift is perfect for the serious cheese-lover or for anyone obsessed with learning as much as they can about cheese. Everything you could possibly want to know about cheese is contained in this book. Also, this is a great coffee table book that will be sure to get guests talking.
We’re big fans of this honey and we just know that whoever you gift this to will love it as well. This black owned brand produces some of the best honey that we have tasted. Not only is it delicious and flavorful but it comes in a variety of flavors such as matcha, raspberry and lemon.
This herb infused oil can serve as a flavorful dipping oil for bread and crackers. We love serving dipping oils when hosting people. Honestly, there is nothing people love more than good bread, butter and a flavorful dipping oil.
Of course, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to remind you about our offerings! Our Mini On The Go Box and our Dessert Box make the most thoughtful gifts for teachers and coaches. These boxes, paired with a candle, mug or even another item from this list would be such a unique and thoughtful gift to give.
This is the perfect gift for anyone who is interested in building better at-home charcuterie boards and accompanying dishes. The images are beautiful, and the recipes are practical and easy to follow. We highly recommend this and consider it a staple for any charcuterie lover.
Food picks are a must when serving a charcuterie board. They are great for picking up hard to grab fruits and veggies and they are reusable which makes them great for the environment.
These cheese storage bags are invaluable when it comes to storing leftover cheese. How many times have you tried to save a wedge of cheese only to reach for it and find it covered in mold. These bags help to prevent that. They are designed especially for cheese and help to preserve it longer than if stored in plastic wrap (which should never be done). These bags are hard to find in local stores so any cheese lover would be excited to receive these!
All season long we have been sharing thoughtful gift options for those special people in your life. We would be remised if we didn’t share with you our holiday charcuterie gift basket.
We are so proud of this basket, and we genuinely love every item in it. We just know that you or whoever you gift it to will love every item as well. Of course, we only chose the best items, but we also chose items that could be paired together to create your own at-home charcuterie board. We wanted this basket to be something you use throughout the holiday season to entertain family and friends. A home-crafted charcuterie board made from these items would be perfect for a family holiday movie night or for a small white elephant party.
In this post we are sharing exactly what you will receive in your basket as well as several ways you can use the ingredients to build the perfect at-home charcuterie board.
We hope that you will love every ingredient in this basket and that it will help to brighten your or a loved one’s holiday season.
Each charcuterie gift basket includes,
Mini-On-The-Go Charcuterie Box
Endangered Species, Dark Chocolate Bar
Assorted Mini Jams and Marmalades
Faustman’s Salami or Vegan Hellenic Salami
Assorted Fresh Fruits
Candied Pecans
Linda Grams, Graham Crackers
Caramel Popcorn
Zach and Zoe, Wildflower Raw Honey
Handmade Stovetop Potpourri
The Kitchen on Wellington, Whipped Ricotta Dip
Lady Joseph Sesame Biscuits
Lady Joseph Cocoa Biscuits
Lady Joseph Aromatic Herbs and Olive Oil Crackers
4-Piece Cheese Knife Set
As soon as you receive your basket, we suggest refrigerating the ricotta dip as well as the mini charcuterie box unless you choose to dive right in and enjoy. Now the mini charcuterie box is for you or for your loved one to enjoy as a special treat. Of course, you can share it with someone special, but the box is perfectly portioned for one, so we suggest settling into a nice cozy spot, pouring a glass of wine and relaxing while enjoying your personal charcuterie bites.
When you are ready to build your at-home charcuterie board we suggest that you start by prepping the ricotta dip. We suggest serving it one of two ways.
Serve with a store-bought jam or a home-made berry compote consisting of citrus, vanilla, blueberries and blackberries. A quick recipe for our favorite compote is below.
Serve with fresh herbs, a dash of salt and pepper and a healthy drizzle of olive oil.
Before you serve you board, place the stovetop potpourri onto the stove, gently warm and let the aroma fill your home. To start building your board, grab your favorite board. We suggest selecting one that can serve 3 to 6 people. If you don’t have a board, you can always opt for a platter. And if you are in the market for a charcuterie board, do check out our list of boards we think are great for the season.
This board features a combination of sweet and savory items, and you can easily add additional ingredients to make it your own or to make it more fitting for a larger crowd. Some items we suggest adding are:
Grapes
Persimmons
Cheddar
Smoked Gouda
Gorgonzola
Manchego
Water Crackers
To assemble your board, start placing your ingredients or reference this quick guide if you need some inspiration.
Start by arranging the honey, and jams onto the board. Either pour the honey into a smaller bowl or serve directly from the jar. Be sure to include your favorite honey wand so that guests can easily serve themselves. Arrange the mini jars of jams and marmalades across the board, spacing them out so that all who are enjoying can easily access.
Cut the salami into slices and arrange onto the board.
Garnish the ricotta dip and place it in a small bowl on the corner of the board.
Slice the oranges, pear and apple and arrange onto the board. You can add additional fruits such as, persimmons and grapes for added variety.
Prepare the pomegranate. The aerials can be place into a small bowl for all to enjoy or they can be broken into small clusters and placed throughout the board.
Arrange the chocolate bar alongside the fruit.
Fill in any empty holes on the board with the candied pecans.
Serve the popcorn in a two small bowls on opposite sides of the board.
Arrange Lady Joesph Sesame Crackers, Lady Joseph Olive Oil and Herb and Lady Joseph Cocoa Crackers around the popcorn bowls.
Arrange Linda Grams close to the fresh fruit.
Place the cheese knives around the board so that snackers can easily access.
If you opt to incorporate jam into your ricotta dip, we love the compote recipe below. It’s not too sweet and nicely compliments the dip.
In a medium saucepan combine blueberries, blackberries, orange juice, sugars and orange zest over medium heat.
Cook until the berries begin to burst and cook down. The mixture will begin to thicken.
Stir in the vanilla
In a separate bowl, combine the water and the cornstarch to create a slurry.
While stirring, pour in the cornstarch mixture. This will immediately thicken the compote. Continue to stir until the mixture becomes think enough to coat the back of your spoon.
Remove from heat and allow to completely cool.
To serve, drizzle some of the mixture on top of the ricotta dip.
As a black and woman owned business it’s important for us to support and amplify other black and woman owned businesses. One way that we do this is through the sourcing of our accoutrements. When available, we like to try to incorporate jams, honey, chocolates and other items produced by black owned companies. We are currently in the process of curating our list for the upcoming year and we thought that we’d share it with you. Some of these items are new to us while others are old favorites.
Throughout this holiday season and the upcoming year, we encourage you to check out these brands and find ways to incorporate them into your at-home charcuterie boards. If you’re not quite sure how to include these, we’ve included a few suggestions below.
We are so excited to try this new to us jam! The jams available from this brand are unique and unexpected and would be a nice addition to any charcuterie board. We love the Cranberry, Raspberry and Sage jam and we’re excited to try the Blueberry Lemon Basil Jam as well as the Smoked Peach Jam. We think these jams would pair nicely atop baked Brie or folded into whipped ricotta.
Linda Grams is a local RVA based brand that we love. We first had these crackers last summer and we have been hooked ever since. These graham crackers are decadent and pair beautifully with fruits and cheeses. We would suggest including these on a dessert/sweets cheese plate or crumbling them and using them as a topping on a sweet dip.
These crackers are great paired with a hearty dip such as hummus or tabouleh. We’ve tried the Tomato and Basil as well as the Rosemary Garlic crackers and really enjoyed them.
This is another item that we are excited to try. This Italian extra virgin olive oil is produced by a husband-and-wife team. Drawing on their background in olive oil production, design and wine, they have produced an olive oil that has made it onto the pages and websites of Food52 and Forbes and onto Oprah’s 2020 Favorite Things List!
We initially ran across this brand back at the beginning of the year and were immediately drawn in. Not only is the packaging eye-catching but the flavors sound amazing. These candied pecans are definingly on our list of things to try holiday season.
This honey is another Oprah’s 2020 Favorite Things List pick. When we finally got a chance to try it and it did not disappoint. Produced by a Brooklyn NY based family, this honey is perfection. They have several flavors and varieties to try, and all would be great options to drizzle onto salty salami and cheese. If you’ve had a chance to check out our Holiday Gift Basket, then you would know that this is one of the items included in the set. (If you haven’t, check it out here) We are so excited that we had the opportunity to include this.
If you are looking for a better-for-you chocolate bar, then this is the bar for you. Born out of her love for her daughter, this bar is, organic, paleo, dairy-free, plant-based, vegan and has no soy lecithin, cane sugar, refined sugar or emulsifiers. There are seven varieties available, all of which can be included as sweet treat, particularly on a plant-based or vegetarian charcuterie board.
If you are looking for a more traditional chocolate bar, then Sol Cacao is a good option. This company is owned by three brothers based in NY who share a love for their Caribbean culture and cacao. The company produces three bars, each of which only contains two ingredients, cacao and cane sugar. Again, this is another great option to include as a sweet bite on your next board.
Popcorn is a very unexpected charcuterie board ingredient but can be a great option on a more casual family tailored board. We love to include it when making boards for the kids. If incorporating popcorn into your next board, this popcorn from Lammar Marie’s Gourmet Popcorn is a good option. We really love the caramel popcorn as well as the kettle corn.
It’s the second week in November, Thanksgiving is only a couple of weeks away, and we are now officially entering peak charcuterie season! Cheese and charcuterie boards are a mainstay at holiday gatherings and dinners particularly because everyone loves them and because they are just so easy to serve and eat.
Chances are that at some point during this season, you may choose to serve a board at your gatherings. If you do, we have put together a list of 25 tips or things we think you should keep in mind. These tips are things that we have picked up along the way and that have served us well. Not only will these tips make serving a board easier, but they will ensure that your guests have everything they need and will have a memorable experience because after all, the goal of hosting is a make our guests feel welcomed, cozy and special.
Check out the tips below and if you have any additional tips that we should add to this list, let us know! We’d love to incorporate your tips and make this an ongoing list that we update and add to each year!
