TRADER JOE'S CHARCUTERIE BOARD ESSENTIALS
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‘Tis the season for Prosciutto, Mistletoe and Joe.
Trader Joe’s, to be exact.
Charcuterie boards are, simply put, the best snack/meal option out there.
And as a woman who loves to eat, I do not say this lightly.
I mean, think about it.
Charcuterie boards are fully-customizable.
They’re inclusive.
They’re inviting.
They’re beautiful.
They have the magical power to look and feel indulgent
while simultaneously being totally budget-friendly.
Equally, if not more, important?
Charcuterie boards are ultra-easy to throw together in a pinch
to convince friends, family and co-workers alike that you’re a
sophisticated adult who has their shit together.
Even when you very much do not have your shit together.
Which I rarely do.
STORY TIME:
We had a small get-together with Joey’s co-workers in early October and in true Tramontana-fashion, our lovely AC unit decided to break the morning of our event.
Which, would have been totally fine if October decided to act like OCTOBER
with a crisp, autumn breeze, mild temps, jewel-tone foliage, etc.
But, naturally, October was essentially August 2.0 in Charlotte
this year with green trees for as far as the eye can see,
scorching temps and aggressive humidity, to boot.
In other words:
No AC = No Bueno
By the time our event started around 6 PM
our indoor temps had climbed to a suffocating and oh-so-sweaty 89 degrees.
With zero air flow, mind you.
Our * one * saving grace?
I threw any bottle of bubbly or white wine I could find in an ice bucket and put together a Trader Joe’s charcuterie board no more than 15 minutes before our guests arrived.
Because, I mean, had I put it together any sooner than that
we’d have a serious case of melted cheese on our hands
and not in a good way.
But what happened next was truly miraculous.
Our sweet guests proceeded to shower us with compliments. praise our hosting skills and gush over our ‘boujee’ table display.
They sipped on chilled wine and snacked to their
hearts’ content for for the next 1.5-2 hours.
The above gaiety all unfolded while they say around out kitchen table, slowly sweating through their autumnal outfits in
— again, I cannot stress this enough —
AIRLESS,
89-DEGREE HEAT.
in OCTOBER.
And if that, my friend, doesn’t serve as a testament to the power of a properly executed
cheese board (and +/- two-five bottles of chilled bubbly) I don’t know what will.
trader joe’s low prices allow you to splurge on high-end bubbly without breaking your budget.
TRADER JOE’S
CHARCUTERIE ESSENTIALS
Listed below are all of the Trader Joe’s ingredients featured from our shoot as well as additional items we reach for regularly while grocery shopping to create a killer spread for our friends and family.
C H E E S E
blue cheese
brie
smoked gouda
cream cheese
(pro tip: use a festive cookie cutter to
dress-up + personalize your board display)
M E A T
prosciutto
capicola
salami
gourmet deli selection pack (calabrase salame,
del duca proscuitto + capocollo)
C A R B S
fig + olive crackers
fresh french baguette with olive oil drizzle (sliced + warm)
multi-grain pita bite crackers (not pictured)
water crackers (not pictured)
P I C K L E D
pitted + salted manzanilla olives
marinated artichoke hearts (not pictured)
D I P S + D R I Z Z L E
greek yogurt spinach + artichoke dip (pair it with the fig
+ olive crackers and thank me later!)
dijon mustard
honey
balsamic glaze
S W E E T S
-chocolate-covered almonds + other assorted, roasted nuts
-dark chocolate peanut butter cups (fool-proof crowdpleaser)
-red grapes
-blueberries
-raspberries
F E S T I V E T O U C H E S
use these to fill in gaps + create an opulent, overflowing display
fresh eucalyptus leaves
fresh rosemary sprigs
cranberries
cinnamon sticks
shop the table
