During the summer there are 3 holidays that call for some red, white and blue – Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day! I always loved displaying the American Flag in the summer and decorating with red, white and blue in different ways. A few weeks ago I saw Amanda, of Fashionable Hostess make a gorgeous Patriotic Cheese tray and knew I HAD to try and make it myself.
A Cheese tray is so easy to make and always looks so good! (plus it goes good with wine) You are pretty much throwing a bunch of things on a cutting board and boom! your done!
What you will need:
- Strawberries
- Blueberries
- Grapes
- Mixed Olives (I used Greek)
- Meats (I used Pepperoni and Salami)
- Mix of cheeses
- Star cookie cutter
- Crackers
- Small bowl
To start, place a bunch of grapes in 2 corners of your cutting board or cheese tray. I used green and red grapes so I placed a bunch of each color diagonal across from each other.
Next, I filled 2 small glass bowls with olives and placed them next to each pile of grapes.
Trader Joes had a mixed box of crackers so I opened each pack and fanned the crackers out around the olive bowl and then along 2 sides of the board.
Following along with the same idea of the crackers I fanned out the salami in two spots ands also made two piles of the pepperoni.
Now that the bigger items are done you can just fill in the open spots with the cheeses, strawberries and blueberries. I used 3 different kinds of cheeses and broke them up into piles.
To finish the board you want to place the cut out star cheese on top or near something dark, like the red grapes, it makes the stars stand out more. Now for the star cheese I used aged cheddar that came in a block and I cut it into slices. I do not have a cheese cutter so this part was kind of hard LOL. I cut my slices a little thick but I think it would have been easier if the slices were thinner. (The corners kept breaking when I would push the cut out through.)
I also made a red, white and blue floral arrangement with flowers from the food store. Hydrangeas can be found in white and blue so they are easy, and then pick a red flower, I used spray roses but you can easily use carnations or Gerber daisies too.
This cheese board can easily but made at home, covered in Saran Wrap and brought to a party. (Which I will be doing =)
I hope you guys give this simple idea a try, and if you do let me know! Also, a big thank you to Amanda, Fashionable Hostess for this great idea!
