I know a cheese platter is more of a dish to serve to guests/for a party, but since the pandemic, it’s just been my parents and I. We decided to make one anyways as a nice snack on the weekend.

A cheese platter can be as simple or elaborate as you wish, but you need to at least have cheese and crackers. More basic: crackers and 1-2 types of cheese. More complex: crackers, 2-3 cheeses, sliced meats (ie: prosciutto, salami), nuts, dried/fresh fruits, olives, pickles, jams/preserves. My platter was somewhere in the middle of this.

Here is the complete list of items on my plate: crackers, aged cheddar cheese, gouda cheese, almonds, dried cranberries, grapes and sliced apple. Those are the things that I had in my house, but or you can use whatever you have on hand. For instance, instead of almonds, you could put walnuts or pecans; and for the cranberries, put dried apricots or figs. For the cheese, you can use any variety of soft (goat, brie, bleu) and hard cheeses (cheddar, manchego). It’s your platter. As long as you have a little mix of colours, textures and flavours, you’re good to go!