My family is known for doing food boards during the holidays. This is one of my favorite family traditions! I prefer providing a whole array of foods for everyone to choose from. This makes hosting easier!
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A lot of platter and board cookbooks have come out recently that I want to share. These will be very helpful for the entire holiday season.
Easy Charcuterie Boards: Arrangements, Recipes, and Pairings for Any Occasion
by Marco Niccoli & Aubrey Niccoli
I really enjoy how organized the “Easy Charcuterie Boards: Arrangements, Recipes, and Pairings for Any Occasion” cookbook is. It has 30 themes and 30 bonus recipes that can be used for any get-together.
The chapters are organized in small, medium, and large boards. Obviously, this is helpful because we don’t want to waste food or not have enough for our guests. For me, I tend to forget the logistics of my parties. This is because I get too excited about the theme! I usually end up making too much food.
There are additional chapters that include recipes like dips, pickles, spreads, etc.
The “Easy Charcuterie Boards: Arrangements, Recipes, and Pairings for Any Occasion” cookbook includes drink pairings!
Big Boards for Families: Healthy, Wholesome Charcuterie Boards and Food Spread Recipes that Bring Everyone Around the Table
by Sandy Coughlin
Growing up, my sister and I were difficult eaters. We never enjoyed the same dishes. Creating a family platter and board is a genius way of including all your family members! I am excited to check out the “Big Boards for Families: Healthy, Wholesome Charcuterie Boards and Food Spread Recipes that Bring Everyone Around the Table” cookbook!
This cookbook emphasizes a really important key to entertaining – making sure you are actually interacting with your guests rather than being cooped up in the kitchen. That is why all the recipes are easy and approachable, to ensure you have time to socialize.
We also have themes throughout this cookbook. Some examples are Mediterranean Shakshuka Board, After-School Energy Bites Board (love this!), Bring-a-Wedge Game Day Board, and Funfetti Cookie Dough Board!
You don’t need to wait to have a platter or board for special occasions. We can utilize this cookbook for everyday events and eventually create our own platters and board recipes.
Easy Cheese Boards: Arrangements, Recipes, and Pairings for Any Occasion
by Claire Robin Adler
Who doesn’t love cheese? I am guilty of hovering over cheese boards at parties because they are so good! With the “Easy Cheese Boards: Arrangements, Recipes, and Pairings for Any Occasion” cookbook I can actually make my own at home for any time.
Most of us know, there is more to a cheese board than cheese. It is all about the pairings! That includes perfect pairings of jam, pickles, olives, crackers, etc.
In the “Easy Cheese Boards: Arrangements, Recipes, and Pairings for Any Occasion” cookbook we learn how to build 30 exquisite boards. This includes the different cheeses: fresh, soft, hard, blue, and even vegan. With this information, we can figure out what other sides to include.
This cookbook provides drink pairings as well! I do love cheese with wine.
I love the step-by-step illustrations that really showcase how beautiful each board can be. This is a fantastic book for beginner hosts.
Dessert Boards: 50 Beautifully Sweet Platters and Boards for Family, Friends, Holidays, and Any Occasion
by Kellie Hemmerly
I am trying to decide if the “Dessert Boards: 50 Beautifully Sweet Platters and Boards for Family, Friends, Holidays, and Any Occasion” cookbook is a blessing or a curse.
This gorgeous cookbook is all about the sweet boards you can create for any part of the day. This includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, and obviously dessert. I am glad they’ve included a whole chapter on fruit-forward boards!
Here’s a list of board themes you will find: Coffee Bar Board, Holiday Cookie Board, Cupcake Decorating Board, Hot Cocoa Board, Awards Night Board, Candy Board, and so much more!
Each theme ranges in difficulty from easy decorative boards to intensive baking. In addition, there is a whole chapter of special recipes for perfect desserts. I can’t wait to check this cookbook out!
Small Plates: Over 150 Ideas for Bites and Nibbles
Cider Mill Press
My mother is someone that likes to try a little bit of everything. I’m sure you have a loved one just like this! They’re the ones who stalk each person’s plate of food, hoping they can have a small nibble. If my mother could create a restaurant, it would include tiny bites so people can try everything. This cookbook is perfect for these kinds of people.
The Small Plates: Over 150 Ideas for Bites and Nibbles is going to be super helpful for the holidays coming up and future gatherings. I wish I had this during summer so I could host parties outside while it was warm.
As the title says, you will find 150 different tricks, tips, and recipes to create fantastic dishes. A few examples are adorable tiny Raspberry Tarts, individual Bacon Cheese Balls, and even bite-sized Cornish Pasties! Each guest will be able to indulge in every treat without getting overly full. I love this idea.
Because this is a Cider Mill Press cookbook, there is a large photo next to each recipe. The dishes are easy to put together!
On Board: Inspiration, Ideas & Recipes for Exceptional Entertaining
by Derek Bissonnette (Author) & Gabrielle Cote (Author)
The “On Board: Inspiration, Ideas & Recipes for Exceptional Entertaining” cookbook is big, bold, and fun.
There’s a combination of recipes and ideas throughout to give you ideas to create your own themes. You have free reign over your boards and there’s room to be creative.
The photography is phenomenal in this cookbook. Almost all the recipes have large bold photos paired with each recipe. There are also photo examples of how your platter or board should look when you serve your guests.
This cookbook is inspiring! I’m already thinking of my own creative platters.
Spectacular Spreads: 50 Amazing Food Spreads for Any Occasion
by Maegan Brown
Maegan Brown is the queen of hosting. Take a look at her blog “The BakerMama” for all sorts of ideas!
The Spectacular Spreads: 50 Amazing Food Spreads for Any Occasion cookbook focuses more on spreads. This is an important element to food boards!
I love spreads as much as I love cheese! I can’t wait to discover all the different recipes I can use for my boards during the holidays. There is even a chapter dedicated to each holiday throughout the year. She also presents spread ideas for ordinary weekday/weekend celebrations.
Take a look at the photos on Amazon! They are amazing. I feel motivated to make my own platter this weekend!
I want to include some platter and board cookbooks from earlier this year, as well! These are must-haves for your cookbook collection.
Tables & Spreads: A Go-To Guide for Beautiful Snacks, Intimate Gatherings, and Inviting Feasts
The Tables & Spreads: A Go-To Guide for Beautiful Snacks, Intimate Gatherings, and Inviting Feasts cookbook is one of my favorites. I adore how everything is stylized.
There is a combination of illustrations and photos to show us how to create fantastic platters. As a visual person, I appreciate this greatly!
Another detail I really enjoyed about this cookbook is the serving size charts. It’s perfect for those who have never done a board or platter before. Now we know exactly how much to buy at the grocery store!
Boards, Platters, Plates: Recipes for Entertaining, Sharing, and Snacking
The Boards, Platters, Plates: Recipes for Entertaining, Sharing, and Snacking cookbook dissects boards in a way that people will understand. It takes photos of completed platters, then there are labels for each item and descriptions as to why each dish is placed where it is.
I also like the variety of the themes: There’s Korean BBQ, Catalonian Summer, S’mores Without a Campfire – all very fun themes all year round.
There are 4 very important components to each board:
1. Looks matter
2. Stay flexible
3. Make it fun to eat
4. Embrace store-bought components
I hope some of these platter and board cookbooks will help for the holiday season ahead and all year round! All of them provide all kinds of amazing insights that will help you become a successful host.
~Kaiti
