Making a cheeseboard

 I've always been a bit of a mouse.  I love cheese.  I mean, really, really, love cheese.  When I was little I used to get a block of cheese in my stocking at Christmas.  True.  My tastes have come a long way since that Christmas lump of cheddar and I don't think I can recall a cheese I've tried and haven't liked, although that's not to say I don't have my favourites!  I'll eat cheese with just about anything, on, in and just by itself, which is where the cheeseboard comes in.  In my opinion, you just can't go wrong with a good cheeseboard, but you do need to choose carefully.  I think it's far better to have three or four good sized cheeses than lots of different ones.  I try to choose a semi-hard cheese, a soft cheese, a blue cheese and I also like to put out some charcuterie, nuts and something sweet.

 I really love salted marcona almonds, figs, segments of tangerine would go down well too; maybe some olives, honey or jam.  Have fun playing around with your selection and then of course you have to decide, crackers or bread?

I serve my cheeses on a lovely heart-shaped slate that I bought one year on holiday.  It's great because I can chalk directly on it, letting everyone know what cheese they're eating.

But a rustic board works just as well.

Place your savoury and sweet treats on the board and serve with this fantastic sparkling apple sangria.  Remember to take your cheeses out of the fridge a good hour before you want to eat them, or their flavours will be muted.

Cheers!

Image sources: 1,6,7,11 here; 2-5 Jessica Lorren via here