rinsemiddlebliss

Charcuterie board with cut cucumber, halved strawberries, a wheel of brie, salami slices, dried dates

Fancy Friday bread and cheese

by AK Krajewska

Every Friday[1], Paul and I have bread and cheese for dinner. The tradition started when I used to go to pillow fort yoga[2] after work on Fridays, and Paul would meet me on the way from yoga to pick up the bread and cheese from Whole Foods for an easy dinner together. We were doing it for a while when I learned this kind of thing is called a charcuterie board. The tradition has morphed over time. Pillow fort yoga is no more and we both work from home on Fridays. When we finish work, we walk together to a nearby corner grocery, wrapping up the workweek.

A charcuterie board with brie, goat cheese, butter, salami, celery, tomatoes, sliced apples, and dates

This was today's bread and cheese board. I don't like celery very much, but Paul is fond of it. I think it looks pretty. I enjoy cutting a wedge out of the wheel of brie to make it look like Pacman.

A charcuterie board with cucumber slices, strawberries, smoked gouda, brie, and dates. Sliced bread in the background.

Cucumber is a pretty typical part of the board. I used to put the fresh vegetables in little bowls on the side, and still do if there are a lot or if they are messy. However, I started experimenting with pretty presentations.

A charcuterie board with cucumber slices, brie, walnuts, salami, dates, and smoked gouda. A glass of amber liquid stands to one side, a little bowl of olives, and a plate of bread behind.

A variation on the typical board, with the addition of some walnuts.

A charcuterie board with brie, caviar, salami, pickles, olives, and dates

A very fancy charcuterie board with caviar. This only happens on special occasions. I'm certain there must have been cucumbers around because I'd never serve caviar without cucumber slices, so this must have been before I decided to pile them on the board.

  1. Except for the rare occasions when we go out. It doesn't happen that much. ↩︎

  2. Officially, it was called yin yoga. It uses all the props: bolsters, blocks, blankets, sandbags, straps, often multiples thereof. ↩︎

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