Make a meat and cheese tray for your next party.
You can't go wrong serving a meat and cheese platter at a party, fundraiser or corporate event. The platter contains food items for even the pickiest of guest if you have planned it correctly. The selection of the cheese and meat is the primary ingredient in the success of the platter. You can choose from the standard collection by picking up a tray from the grocer, or you can make a meat and cheese platter yourself with a more discriminating taste.
Instructions
1. Select your cheeses. Use the traditional cheese fare, such as American, cheddar and Swiss, and also include other varieties, such as blue cheese, smoked Gouda and Havarti. Add some soft cheeses, such as brie, goat cheese or Camembert, with a knife for spreading.
2. Choose your meats. Pick the standard meats, such as roast beef, turkey breast and ham, and add other sliced meats, including corn beef, Coppola and salami, to the tray. Consider specialty deli meat cooked in spices, such as salsa-seasoned chicken breast or pepper turkey.
3. Prepare your platter design. Arrange the food in a circular formation for a round tray or in sections for a rectangular tray. Decide whether you want to overlap and build up layers, which come in handy for large gatherings, or want one layer that you replenish as eaten. Determine the sections for each meat and cheese.
4. Roll the cheese and meat slices lengthwise into a tube-shaped appearance. Place the roast beef on the tray in a wedge-shaped section if on a circular tray or at the end of the platter for a rectangular one. Group the Swiss cheese slices next to it. Alternate the meats and cheeses until the tray is complete.
5. Include a tray of breads, crackers and rolls. Choose white, wheat, rye or pumpernickel bread. Add crackers, such as salted, sesame, rye, wheat or buttery. Place French or Italian rolls on the plate.
6. Slice tomatoes, pickles, onions and lettuce. Arrange them in a platter by placing one piece of lettuce on the plate, then placing the tomato, onion and pickle on top.
7. Place cone riser filled with black olives, green olives, cucumber slices and carrot sticks next to the meat and cheese platter. Add another cone riser containing condiments, such as mayonnaise, deli mustard or butter.
Tags: meat cheese, meat cheese platter, cheese meat, cheese platter, cone riser, roast beef
