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Honest, I could eat the foods on this cheese board all summer long.

Simple Summer Cheese Board | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

It has EVERYTHING I love most in the world; cheese, fresh fruit and grilled bread, I mean, what more could a girl need in life?

SO, you guys all know how I am in the midst of finishing up my cookbook manuscript, right (it’s actually due tomorrow…YIKES)? While, thanks to the mass amounts of writing I have been doing the last few weeks, I’ve realized a couple of things. One, I do not have a serious writing style. I like to say exactly what’s on my mind and hold nothing back. I find it kind of cathartic (big word for me, maybe I am learning something!). In no way is my writing style serious or “book” proper. I guess it might have something to do with the fact that I’m only twenty-two, but more than that, I think it’s just my style of writing. And since this is only a blog, and it’s my blog, I can get away with it. In real life, I’m a fairly serious person, but to a point. I like to have fun with my words…does that make sense?

Second thing I realized? I really freaking love cheese. I mean, I knew this, but when writing multiple recipes in a day, it became very, VERY clear. I really dig my cheese and a lot of it.

If you are a true hard-core vegan who skips over the cheese, I am sorry. I did not intentionally mean to have so many cheese filled recipes happening in the book, but I really just cannot help it. Like to me, cheese is the best.

Sidenote: do you guys have stink bugs where you live, or is that just a Colorado thing? We have these black bugs with a really hard shell and when you kill them they release the most God awful smell ever. It’s honestly so horrible, plus the smell lingers and lingers. Not fun, so gross and just horrible. Clearly one was just killed, by mistake, I must have stepped on it, and I am not happy about it. Ewwwwwww!

Simple Summer Cheese Board | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvestSimple Summer Cheese Board | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Sidenote over, on to this Simple Summer Cheese Board.

Cheese boards are like my soul food. I hate that term “soul” food, but it actually applies here. No joke, I could live on the contents of this board, and to some extent, I do. Again, I am very lucky to have been blessed with good genes, although I do believe that cheese should be part of a regular diet. I mean, it probably depends somewhat on the cheese, but for the most part I’m of the mind that cheese is a healthy food. Hello to protein and calcium.

Don’t you guys just love my thinkin? I feel like I really know what’s up.

Simple Summer Cheese Board | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Anyway, let’s get to chatting about this here board.

So I love having one giant cheese board with tons of variety. Thing is, sometimes having such a big board can be a little overwhelming. So there are times when I just want to create a simpler cheese board, most often it’s during the summer months when I hope to spend as little time in the kitchen as possible. Enter this perfect little cheese board.

OkOK, well it’s not really little, but it is simple. I stuck with just three cheeses, fresh summer fruits, honey and grilled bread. Nothing fancy, nothing time-consuming, but still perfection. I did turn the grill on for some prosciutto wrapped mozzarella, but so worth the effort. It’s a melty, salty mess of amazingness…how could crispy prosciutto and melted mozzarella not be though? YUM.

For my three cheese picks, I decided to go with something soft… hello creamy Humboldt Fog, studded with truffles. Something hard… hello to my super sharp cheddar ribboned with blue cheese. And something on the funkier side… hello stinky gorgonzola. I also included a ball of burrata, because well, burrata is never a bad idea. I like to stick to no more than 3 cheeses, 4 including the burrata, but I see the burrata as more of a fancy mozzarella that everyone can enjoy, so I don’t count it in my 3 cheese rolls. Ok, as I type this I am realizing this doesn’t make any sense, but somehow it made sense in my head at the time, so 4 cheeses there are (remember my head is not the clearest right now). Point is, you should have at least three varieties of cheese. One or two that you know everyone will enjoy, and then two that are more on the wild side of things.

Got it? K, cool, let’s move onto the fruit and bread!!!

Simple Summer Cheese Board | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

You can really use whatever fruit and whatever carbs you love. Since it’s summer, I used stone fruits, berries and figs. You can never go wrong with fruit, whatever you love will work! For the bread, I highly recommend grilling up a loaf of sourdough, it’s kind of epic when paired with any kind of cheese. DO IT.

And then I also like to include aged balsamic vinegar on my board for drizzling, along with fresh honeycomb and or honey, for a nice touch of sweetness. I do love my cheese and honey pairings, no doubt.

From here you can be done, or you can add whatever else you’re feeling!! Cheese boards are meant to be fun and creative, so don’t be afraid to do just that. There are no “rules”. What’s most important is that YOU love what’s on YOUR board.

OK. And now I am done… peace out! Ugh, my brother Red has been down here way too much. Peace out? I mean, identity crisis for sure.

Simple Summer Cheese Board | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Simple Summer Cheese Board.

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings: 6 Servings
Calories Per Serving: 324 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Ingredients

  • 3-4 wheeles of cheese I like one hard, one soft and one funky
  • honey and or honeycromb
  • grilled bread or assorted crackers
  • salami
  • fresh berries and figs
  • stone fruits
  • green olives
  • marcona almonds walnuts or pistachios

Grilled Prosciutto Wrapped Mozzarella

Instructions

  • Remove your cheese from the fridge 1 hour prior to serving. Room temperature is best for cheese boards.
  • Arrange the cheese on a large platter or cutting board. Drizzle the funky cheese with honey. Arrange the grilled bread around the cheese. Add the salami and Grilled Prosciutto Wrapped Mozzarella (below). Fill the board in with berries, stone fruits, fresh figs and green olives. Finish with nuts, sprinkle them on or around the cheese.

Grilled Prosciutto Wrapped Mozzarella

  • Preheat your grill or a grill pan to medium-high. Oil the grate to ensure the prosciutto does not stick.
  • Wrap each piece of mozzarella tightly in prosciutto. Lay the flat side down on the grill and grill for 2-3 minutes per side. Remove and sprinkle with salt + pepper. Serve on your cheese board or with fresh fruits and aged balsamic.

Notes

*Grilled Prosciutto Wrapped Mozzarella inspired by chef Micheal Symon.
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Simple Summer Cheese Board | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Happy cheese lovin Wednesday friend! 🙂

Simple Summer Cheese Board | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

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Comments

  1. Any tips for serving meat and cheese boards for large groups? We are planning a wedding with 150 people and would love to do something like this.

    1. Hey Michael! That is so fun! Meat and cheese boards are great for large groups! I would make maybe 3-5 larger size boards and then set them up on a table or tables are the room. Do you have any specific questions? Thanks!

  2. This board is beautiful! May I ask what is in the bowl? What are the cheeses you chose for this photo?

    1. Hi Krista! That is a ball of burrata with olive oil. My other cheese was a sharp cheddar, Gorgonzola and creamy goat. Let me know if you have any questions. Happy to help you pick your cheeses! 🙂

  3. I love your writing style, Tieghan! Reading your blog feels like talking and catching up with a friend!

    This cheese board looks absolutely AMAZING, I’m glad I’m not the only one who supports the ample eating of cheese and bread!

  4. Cheese is also a BIG part of my diet! I love it, I love all cheeses, on everything or just plain.
    Ahhh, this sounds really good to me.

  5. This looks so yummy. I may have to replicate it for our 4th of July extravaganza, because mmmmm. On a side note, where did you get the awesome looking board that you put all this delicious food on?

    1. Hey Alyson, thanks so much! I got the board on Etsy. Just search vintage cutting boards or cheese boards or just cutting boards. They have all kinds. That one came from Turkey so it took a while to get here but it’s one of my favorites! Let me know if you have any questions. Hope you love the cheeseboard and have a great Fourth of July!

  6. I love your honest, holding nothing back writing style! This post especially made me lol a few times!

  7. Wow!! This looks amazing, and I love how you plate everything and make it look at fun yet cohesive. I just had to comment a big, fat, THANK YOU bc my bf read your post over my shoulder and then we went out and bought a bunch of cheese from Trader Joe’s alomg with a great bottle of wine and some bread!! Great evening last night thanks to Tieghan! 😀

  8. I totally bet that if you put this cheese board at a party, it would empty way faster than the time it took for you to plate everything, which I’m sure may not have taken that short of time but still! Everything would disappear so quickly! I think it’s way too beautiful to eat!

    1. Thank you so much Cassie! I would hope people would enjoy it and that is very nice to hear! (: