I love to add many little salty and sweet snacks that are easy to grab and pop in your mouth. Salty olives and fresh fruit like blueberries, strawberries, and dates are perfect… and of course, you NEED pistachios!

This post is sponsored by the American Pistachio Growers.

The base of my charcuterie boards is always the meats and cheeses. I like to work in odd numbers for each type of ingredient. A crowd-pleasing board has 3 types of meat and 3 cheese in my humble opinion.

When I’m selecting cheeses I always pick a soft one, like a brie, a hard one like parmesan or a manchego, and blue cheese to give it a little zip. For the meats, I usually pick 2 different salamis or pepperoni, and a cured meat like prosciutto or serrano ham.

My Mormor(grandmother) in Norway always told me that when you add salty items to an hors d’oeuvres spread you always need to balance them with something sweet like jam or honey. The sweet condiments allow your guests to make their own salty-sweet creations.

I love to add many little salty and sweet snacks that are easy to grab and pop in your mouth. Salty olives and fresh fruit like blueberries, strawberries, and dates are perfect.

And of course, you NEED pistachios…

Salted American-grown pistachios are the best filler to make your charcuterie board have that abundant and decadent feel. They’re also the perfect healthy bite for any of your guests who might have dietary restrictions.

For an easy and elevated Valentine’s Day feel we used a heart-shaped cookie cutter to make a “bowl” out of a small round of brie. Simply cut out the shape, place the brie on your board and fill it with jam. You can use any shape cookie cutter you like, but the heart is my favorite. You can also use the same cookie cutter to make little heart-shaped pieces of bread. I love to toast mine in a pan with a drizzle of good olive oil.

Photography by Paul Lowe