This 6 foot beauty was featured at a local boutique to help them celebrate 4 incredible years in business. This shop is such an inspiration for me so it was a real pleasure getting to create a graze for their celebration!
This graze featured four different categories:
- dips
- meat + cheese
- veggies
- fruit
I love to include dips into my grazing tables because it offered a nice variation in the food. It is also a great way to fill a table while keeping to a budget. Let’s dive into this table!
Dips-
Herby Yogurt Dip:
To make my herby yogurt dip I combine a container of thick greek yogurt with lemon juice & zest, lots of chopped fresh herbs, & salt & pepper. I love to garnish this dip with a slice of lemon and extra fresh herbs to show the guests exactly what’s inside.
Spinach Dip:
Spinach dip is such a crowd pleaser, but it’s also a fantastic make ahead dip, which is perfect for entertaining. I combine mayo, sour cream, chopped spinach, carrots & plenty of herbs & seasonings. Everything gets mixed together & hangs out in the fridge overnight. This dip is so beautiful on its own, I don’t even use a garnish!
Hummus:
There are a lot of fantastic Hummus recipes out there, but my little shortcut secret? I buy the big tubs from Costco because its more cost effective for entertaining, & I think its delicious! I doctor it up with a drizzle of olive oil & a sprinkling of paprika, then it’s ready to hit the table!
Meat + Cheese-
The stunning centerpiece of this graze was the meat & cheese display. I wanted to give a good variety of cheeses to please even the pickiest of guests so I went for less of each cheese, but included several varieties.
Charcuterie:
- Salami Secchi – a hard salami with an edible casing
- Calabrese – a thinly sliced, heavily spiced pork salami
- Italian Dry Salami – classic Italian salami, sliced thin
- Proscuitto – Italian dry-cured ham
Cheese:
- Cabot White Cheddar
- Dutch Gouda
- Creamy Jalapeno Spread
- Manchego
- Sgt. Pepper Spread
- Heritage Brie
- Midnight Moon
Boards-
Your boards & platters don’t have to contain the most upscale ingredients, they just need to be delicious! Fruit & veggies are not only beautiful on a grazing table, but they are also tasty when paired with other grazing items.
Veggie Platter:
Grazing tables can often contain a lot of heavier foods like cheese & bread. I love to add a gorgeous platter of fresh sliced veggies to help with the richness of the other foods. The veggies are also a nice alternative to bread or crackers for guests who want to partake in the dips. This platter included: mini peppers, radish, carrots, broccoli, cucumber, snow peas, asparagus & celery. When creating veggie platters, I like to have different colors & sizes to add interest to the board.
Fruit Board:
Similarly to the veggie platter, having fruit on a grazing table is nice to break up the richness of the other foods. Fruit is also a natural pairing for cheese so guests can enjoy those pairings as well. This fruit board featured: pineapple, strawberries, blueberries, cantaloup & honeydew.
Accoutrements + Extras-
The items listed above are what I call the ‘anchors’ to a grazing table. They are the main event. But we need some extra yummy stuff to fill in those gaps & help turn these anchors into a full blown grazing table. This is the time to add in the extra cheeseboard items like crackers & nuts. It’s also the time to add any accoutrements for your dips, like chips or bread. Here’s what I added to this graze:
For the Cheese + Meat:
- Crackers
- Mixed Nuts (make sure to check for allergies)
- Grapes
- Honey (I love to use Beeseasonal Honey)
- Dried Apricots
- Cornishon (or pickles)
- Marinated Olives
For the Dips:
- French Bread, sliced
- Pita Chips
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