How to Make a Fall Cheese Board with Trader Joe's Finds

Y'all know I love to play hostess with the mostest any ol' time but especially during the holiday season...which is now. I went into Trader Joe's for wine a little over a week ago then just started grabbing things (I blame Katey McFarlan for piquing my interest in the peach Bellini jam!) that looked delicious. A few items in, I got the idea to put together a spread for an upcoming girls' night.

I shared the Trader Joe's haul in my Instagram stories and asked if y'all wanted to see me put together a cheese board with the items I picked. The answer was a resounding yes, girl! so I posted a how-to in my stories last Friday. It's saved to my IG highlights, as well--just click on "TJ Cheese Board" to watch the how-to. The ingredients were decidedly seasonal (sweet potato, cranberries, apples, etc.) and I tried to stick to an autumnal color palette. The result was both aesthetically pleasing and delicious so here's the shopping list you'll need to recreate your own fall Trader Joe's cheese board:

Fall Trader Joe's Cheese Board Shopping List

*Prices reflected were observed in Houston, Texas, October 2018.

If you want to make even the most casual of gatherings feel more grown-up, just add an easy cheese board. I'm assuming you're already including wine. 🙂 Such was the case with this fall Trader Joe's cheese board. I had my linesisters over for girl talk and wine. We added a couple of pizzas to this cheese board and BOOM! Easy little spread. I've gotten a few questions about the tools I used for this board, so below is the list as well as some product recommendations.

Tools You'll Need for a Fall Trader Joe's Cheese Board

• Instead of an actual board, I used a white ceramic tray that I had previously picked up at either Marshalls or HomeGoods. It's about 12" by 15". This is the same tray I used for last year's Thanksgiving appetizer board.
• The little cheese knives are from this set. I also used them to make a red, white & blue cheese board over the summer.
• You'll need a few ramekins (small bowls) I tend to pick these up at Walmart, HomeGoods, and during sales at Sur La Table or Williams Sonoma.
• Lastly, you'll need some spoons to scoop out the jams and spreads.

Tips for Building a Fall Trader Joe's Cheese Board

• You can't really go wrong when building a cheese board but there are a few practices I tend to follow that work for me:
• Arrange the cheeses in order of pungency (flavor strength).
• Place liquids and items smaller than bite size (like the pistachios) in ramekins.
• Place ramekins on the board first, followed by cheeses, then fill in crisps and other items around them.
• Guide your guests' eating by placing complementary items near each other. Example, I spooned the pepper jelly over the wheel of brie because they taste perfect together.

Are you doing any hosting this season? Tell me all about it below, if so. I have a few more hosting posts up my sleeve and want to make sure I address whatever scenarios y'all have coming up. Thanks for reading!

P.S. more fun party foods:

• Skillet S'mores Dip
• Praline & Brie Dip
• Buttery Chai Popcorn
• Goat Cheese & Cherry Bites
• Spicy Pumpkin Hatch Salsa