Please tell me that you need a good summer cheese board.

One loaded with sweet berries, rich cheeses, and decadent chocolate?

I know I do.

Or maybe I don’t NEED one, but I definitely want one.

The thing is, I haven’t really made a cheese board since I created the autumn-inspired cheese board last autumn.  And I was craving one.  Big time.

But this time I wasn’t serving an entire crowd, and I was also serving the board during a completely different season.

Adios apple butter and spicy pumpkin hummus.  Hola, berries and rhubarb pie spread!

So, honestly, this summer-inspired cheeseboard, on the whim, was exactly what I needed.  And I’m going to tell you what you need to do to make it yourself!

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Step One: Choose your board. 

I picked up this circular wooden board from the Target’s dollar spot last holiday season.  It makes such a great vehicle to display all my favorite treats.  However, what you don’t see is the small Christmas tree engraved in the top of it.  Which is completely fine, because I planned to load this up so it was undetectable.  However if you don’t plan to go as overboard as I did, I’ll tell you that I am completely in love with this marble and brass circular cutting board, and this slate cutting board.

Step Two: Add your cheese.

I decided to use my absolute favorite cheeses for this board since I was serving a smaller group of people than I did for my autumn-inspired board, and if I had any leftovers I wanted to make sure I was going to eat them.  My first choice, and absolute favorite, was a New York sharp white cheddar.  I knew that even if I didn’t eat this, my daughter would have no problem devouring it.  After that, I wanted to mix it up with different milk varieties, so I chose a soft cow’s milk (brie) and a soft goat’s milk.

Step Three: Add salty things.

Like I mentioned in my previous post, my favorite part of a cheese board is having a plethora of different textures and tastes to enjoy all on one plate.  I generally incorporate the “salty” element by adding some meats.  In this case, I chose a Genoa and a Soppressata salami.  Both were on sale at my local grocery, which is why I chose them, but they paired wonderfully with my cheese and accompaniment choices.

I also added gherkins (upon a co-worker’s recommendation).  Oh my goshhh am I glad I added these!  They were the perfect sweet/salty accompaniment to my summer cheeseboard!

Step Four: Add sweet things.

Since I was creating this board in the summer, I had so many more options for the “sweet things” element. So. Many. Berries.  I even had cherries, which I forgot to put on the board (whoops!).  But, truly, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, and chocolate stuffed raspberries (Yes, I freaking did!) paired WONDERFULLY on this board.  To make the chocolate stuffed raspberries, just shove a chocolate chip in a raspberry.  And go all out.  Whoo!

Step Five: Add bread and crackers.

This part was my favorite. My local grocery had the breadsticks on sale, so I was, without a doubt, going to pick those up. And then I decided to grab some whole wheat crackers.  Both of them were great vehicles for the cheeses I chose. And my daughter absolutely loved the crunchy breadsticks. So, a total win on my behalf!

Step Six: Add condiments. 

I settled on adding a sweet spread: rhubarb pie spread.  It’s a sweet rhubarb jam with pie crust pieces swirled throughout.  While I’m not sure where you can obtain this spread, other than a local Lidl store, this may work in it’s place: cherry rhubarb jam.

Step Seven: Fill in the spaces.

I did this by adding pecans (some crunchiness, please), and flowers that were growing on a tree outside my house.  I absolutely loved the way this board turned out so there wasn’t much extra space to fill, but the addition of flowers totally took it over the top from a standard cheese board to a “summer cheese board”. ‘

The best part was? This entire board was less than $30 dollars, which was a bargain compared to what I spent on that autumn-inspired board I did last year.  So stay-tuned throughout the seasons while I bring you more financially-friendly cheese boards.

Because I’m OBSESSED.