How to make a Charcuterie Board

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Safeway. All opinions are 100% mine.

Our holiday meal plans haven't changed much this year, I've been making a turkey with all of the fixings for our family of five for years now, we have an occasional guest, but we haven't had a large gathering in a long time. It means I do A LOT of cooking by myself, but it's probably my favorite meal to prepare.

Since I spend my morning in the kitchen, I want to have a way to keep my family and I fed, and still get the cooking done, without cooking more food. Thankfully, as usual, Safeway Delivery saves the day and I'll be making the perfect charcuterie board!

What Is Charcuterie?

Charcuterie (pronounced [shar-koo-tuh–ree]) is the art of preparing cured or smoked meats. A charcuterie board usually consists of a variety of meats and cheeses, plus fruit or nuts, making it the perfect snack board. A party board is a perfect way to put together a nice snack (or even meal) for your family during the holidays! You can even create a date night board for you and your partner.

Make the perfect Charcuterie Board

There is no right or wrong when it comes to putting together a charcuterie board! Changing a few ingredients means a new board every time, making it easy to make holiday themed charcuterie boards.

When you are shopping for your charcuterie board, think about different colors and textures of your meats and cheese.

Including fruits, fresh herbs, pickles, olives and various dips (like the ones from Signature Cafe®) are more ways to make your board look delicious.

It's okay if your board seems like it is full or even overflowing! That can happen when there are so many yummy things to choose from!

The best thing about a meat and cheese board with various flavors is that it takes very little prep and looks wonderful! Safeway's Primo Taglio® has an incredible selection of meats and cheeses. I admit, when I was putting together my online cart, everything looked so good I may have gone a little overboard with all of the choices. I totally cheated by purchasing the Classic Italian Style Entertaining Platter and Party Cheese Tray. Anything to make it easier, right?

Don't forget the crackers either. Carbs are my weakness, and Safeway delivers (literally) with fabulous crackers to fit every palate from a variety of in house brands. I love the textures and colors that crackers bring to a charcuterie board. The O Organics® Rosemary Flatbread Crackers are one of my most favorites!

Preparing a Charcuterie Board

1: Gather right boards to build your platters. A special board isn't needed. Large cutting boards, slate and marble slabs, slate boards or your favorite platter.

2: Choose a variety of cured meats and salami.

3: Use a variety of soft and hard cheese options, you can choose wedges of cheese, cubes and slices.

4: If you'd like include cured olives and antipasti.

5: Include crackers and bread sticks.

6: Mix in some different fruit and bowls of nuts.

How to shop for your Charcuterie Board

Safeway offers Grocery Delivery and DriveUp & Go™ for convenient ways to shop, it's been my favorite way to get groceries, it's so easy to make sure I'm getting all of my just for U® deals while I'm adding things to my online cart, and I can choose a delivery day and time that is convenient to me. I shopped at Safeway in my local area, but you can also find Primo Taglio® and Signature Cafe® at the Albertsons Companies family of stores, including Albertsons, ACME Markets, Jewel-Osco, Vons, Randalls, Shaw’s Supermarket, Star Market and Tom Thumb. Ask at a store near you.