Winter charcuterie inspiration

With so many holidays throughout the month of December, we find ourselves snacking constantly, and there’s no snack we love more than… well basically anything served on a board. Why do snacks taste so much better from a board? Honestly, it’s a mystery, but even our kids love a good snack board so we’ve rounded up some charcuterie board ideas from the HMC Farm Kitchen to get you through the holidays and into the new year. 

 

Board #1: The winter classic

This is one of our favorite winter charcuterie boards. We started with HMC Farms red seedless grapes (of course), and added local almonds, pistachios, pomegranates, and salami—in fact, nearly everything on this board is grown or made in California. What we love most about this board is that it balances the sweetness of in-season fruit with the saltiness of salami and nuts and the bold flavor of our favorite cheeses. It’s a crowd-pleaser, and our go-to when hosting a small gathering or cocktails over Zoom.

Charcuterie board with grapes, salami, cheese, pomegranate, crackers, and nuts

What we used for the winter classic:

  • HMC Farms red seedless grapes
  • Pomegranates from the Central Valley
  • Almonds from the Central Valley
  • California pistachios
  • Two kinds of salami from Busseto Foods
  • Rainforest Crisps
  • Dubliner cheese from Kerrygold
  • Habanero and jalapeño cheddar from Yancey’s Fancy

Board #2: The vegetarian board

FYI: meat is not required for a delicious board of snacks. We said it. Honestly, why should meat eaters have all the fun? Whether you are a vegetarian, shifting toward a more plant-based diet, or simply not eating processed meats (hello, pregnant ladies!), this board is a great option to enjoy your board sans-meat (you can also ditch the cheese or swap for vegan cheese to make this a vegan board). Honestly, even if you’re an omnivore, you might not even notice the salami is missing—we didn’t!

Charcuterie board with fruit, nuts, cheese, and crackers

What we used for the vegetarian board:

  • HMC Farms red seedless grapes
  • Oranges and pomegranates from the Central Valley
  • Red walnuts from the Central Valley
  • California pistachios
  • Marcona almonds
  • Brie cheese
  • Manchego cheese
  • Dubliner cheese from Kerrygold
  • Red wine cheese
  • Mini crisps
  • Rosemary from our backyard for garnish

Board #3: The charcuterie wreath

It took us a minute to get on board with the charcuterie wreath trend. It seemed like a waste to leave a giant gap where there should be a pile of yummy snack foods. However, with the holidays upon us, we concede that a charcuterie wreath is cute for Christmas gatherings. If you’ve got a plate so cute you don’t want to cover it up, or if your famous artichoke dip needs a home on your charcuterie board, this might be the perfect fit for you.

Plate that says Happy Holidays with grapes, cheese, nuts, and a salami rose. Greenery, crackers, and a kitchen towel around the plate.

What we used for the charcuterie wreath:

  • HMC Farms red seedless grapes
  • California almonds
  • Salami
  • Manchego cheese
  • Cranberry white cheddar cheese
  • Served with a side of mini crisps

Board #4: The jarcuterie

This portable pint-sized snack is a promising pick when plating your preferences isn’t pleasant. (We are trying to compete with Peter Piper and his peppers here). A jarcuterie is an adorable way to refer to all of your favorite charcuterie board items served in jars. Why do we love jarcuteries? They remind us of Christmas stockings. There are layers of fun surprises, and you honestly never know what you’ll find at the bottom. You can easily customize jarcuteries for people with food allergies or dietary preferences that would make different foods overlapping on a board a bad idea. This is also a great way to prevent people from touching (or breathing on) all of the treats, and it’s pretty easy to make these little guys look just as adorable as a full spread. As a fun bonus, your uncle can’t hog all of the HMC Farms grapes if everyone gets their own portion.

Three jars filled with nute, grapes, cheese, peas, an crackers.

What we used for the jarcuterie:

  • HMC Farms red seedless grapes
  • Salami
  • Marcona almonds
  • Cranberry habanero white cheddar
  • Manchego wedges
  • Rosemary crackers
  • Sugar snap peas
  • Cookies from Life’s a Batch

Thanksgiving With Grapes

Thanksgiving is quickly approaching, which kicks off the holiday season. Holiday traditions often revolve around food, and if we’re being honest, food is one of the things we look forward to most throughout the holiday season. At HMC Farms, we eat what we grow, and that means that our Thanksgiving table includes plenty of HMC Farms table grapes! In the spirit of our farm table, we’ve gathered some ideas for you to add to your own Thanksgiving table. Let us know if you try any of these by tagging us in your photos on social media, or leaving a comment here on our blog.

Charcuterie board with grapes, salami, cheese, pomegranate, crackers, and nuts

Holiday charcuterie

Charcuterie boards are popular for a reason, and we love the versatility of a block of wood piled up with all of our favorite snacks. We used a variety of cheeses, fruit, and other snacks in this charcuterie board-see the list below. Vegetarians or vegans can easily adapt this to their dietary specifications by ditching the salami, and swapping out the cheese for dairy alternatives. Nut allergy? Swap out the nuts for more crackers or some veggies. As long as you keep the grapes, we approve!

Here’s what we used on our holiday charcuterie board:

HMC Farms red seedless table grapes

Aged white cheddar

Habanero & jalapeño cheddar

Two types of salami

Pomegranate

Almonds

Pistachios

Fig crisps

Sprigs of rosemary for greenery

 

Stuffing in an oval dish with grapes mixed in. A bunch of grapes on the left, a napkin and ceramic pumpkin on the right

Stuffing with roasted grapes

Tired of the same old boring stuffing with that turkey? Try mixing it up with the addition of roasted grapes! This is a winning choice because you can keep the same exact recipe (or box of mix) you always use, and just stir the roasted grapes in at the end. An additional bonus here is that roasting is a great option for grapes that are getting a little wrinkly or soft. Roasting grapes is as easy as plucking them off the stem, rinsing, tossing them in olive oil and a little bit of sea salt on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and popping them in the oven. The process is very simple, and you can up the ante a little bit here by adding thyme or rosemary when tossing the grapes in olive oil.

Looking for more on roasted grapes? Check out this guide from our friends at The Produce Moms.

 

Round dish with rectangles of feta cheese, topped with roasted grapes. Crackers to the left, bottle of olive oil to the right, and a string of lights around the edge. Background is dark wood.

Baked feta with roasted grapes

Yes, we are recommending two dishes that contain roasted grapes because they are really that good. If you haven’t tried roasted grapes before, you are truly missing out on a versatile topping or ingredient that can fit into many savory or sweet dishes. If you are a feta fan, you’ve probably tried the trendy baked feta pasta, and we don’t blame you. Quick and easy recipes are perfect to include in Thanksgiving, since you’re already spending plenty of time and effort on everything else. Rather than the main course, this is a great appetizer or side dish, or even the perfect centerpiece for your charcuterie board. Serve it with crackers or rustic bread and thank us later. You can find our recipe for baked feta and roasted grapes on our Instagram page or check out the similar recipe that inspired us on the Grapes from California website.