Build a Holiday Cheese Board in Three Steps

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If you've been reading here for any amount of time, you likely know that cheese boards are kind of my thing. For anything from a girls' night in to my Insecure- themed birthday party, I love putting together a spread of snacks and cheese boards somehow fit everything into an easy package. A cheese board even works for an easy date night at home but, with holiday entertaining upon us, there are several more elaborate opportunities to put one together. I previously shared cheese board basics I picked up from the French and, today, I've partnered with the Kaukauna® brand, which is 100 years young this year and has always been made in Wisconsin, to break down how to build an impressive holiday cheese board with a red and green theme, in just a few minutes and three easy steps. Let's get into it!

Holiday Cheese Board Ingredients

• Kaukauna® Sharp Cheddar Cheese Ball
• Kaukauna® No Artificial Anything Port Wine Cheese Ball (no artificial colors, preservatives or other ingredients!)
• Kaukauna® Smoky Bacon Cheese Ball
• Pomegranate, cut into quarters
• Green Apple, sliced
• Red Apple, sliced
• Celery, cut- into bite-sized pieces
• Crackers
• Pecans
• Mini Pickles
• Spiced Lingonberry Jam
• Blender Salsa (recipe below)

Kaukauna is celebrating 100 years of being everyone's favorite cold-pack cheese with two new recipes in their Port Wine and Sharp Cheddar cheese balls and we can expect the recipe to be extended to their whole line in the future. These cheese balls are so versatile, they fit at any table. Here's the new Kaukauna® packaging to look for when shopping for your holiday cheese board. I purchased my cheese balls at my local Walmart in the refrigerated deli section.

How to Build a Holiday Cheese Board in Three Steps

I get lots of feedback from y'all when I share cheese boards, including that they sometimes look intimidating. Today, let's shake off any worries because you. can. do. this! There's a cheese board video saved to my Instagram story highlights and a lot of y'all found that helpful so let's start at the very beginning with this one.

The first step is to place your cheese on the board. I placed the Kaukauna® No Artificial Anything Port Wine Cheese Ball in the center, with the Sharp Cheddar Cheese Ball to the left and Smoky Bacon Cheese Ball to the right. Pro Tip: Typically, you should order the cheeses from least to most pungent. In this case, each Kaukauna® cheese ball is equally flavorful, so I just spaced them out evenly.

Next, place ramekins on the board. I fill ramekins with smaller items like nuts and raisins, and sauces and spreads. For this board, I chose spiced lingonberry jam and homemade salsa to add some red to the red and green holiday theme. Pro Tip: Choose spreads and sauces with flavors to complement the items on the board. 

The last step is to fill in all the spaces around the cheese and ramekins with a mixture of crisps, produce, and whatever else your guests might like. Pro Tip: Layer and lean items on each other create dimension--it doesn't need to look perfect!

Et voila! Feel free to use my ingredient list as a guide and incorporate whatever combination of fruits, nuts, and crisps you desire. This red, white & blue cheese board and this festive fall cheese board can provide additional inspo! That concludes the first post of December. Wishing y'all a happy (and stress-free) holiday entertaining season. Be sure to check back tomorrow for a holiday hostess gift guide, aka a holiday wish list to slide in your friends DMs. 🙂 Thanks for reading!

P.S. Here's the quick blender salsa recipe, in case you'd like to incorporate it into your next board. There's minimal prep time involved--just cutting your veggies before tossing everything into a blender!

Ingredients

• 1 can roasted tomatoes
• 1 can roasted green chiles
• 2 Roma tomatoes, cut into big chunks
• ½ red onion, chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper
• ½ habanero pepper
• 4 cloves garlic, minced or chopped
• juice from 1 fresh lime
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• sea salt to taste

Instructions

1. Add all ingredients to a blender or food processor and use the pulse setting on either until the ingredients are incorporated and broken down. If using a blender, it may be necessary to add a bit bit of liquid, which can come from the canned tomatoes or peppers.