Boards can be savory or sweet. Boards started out primarily with various cheeses, Italian meats, nuts, and fruit. We had a favorite restaurant here in Healdsburg, called The Shed. They had a seafood board that came with toasted homemade sour dough and homemade crackers with pickled vegetables. It was one of our favorite items on the menu. Another favorite restaurant does, Tin Fish Boards.
As you can see from the picture, you get pickled vegetables, aioli, cocktail sauce with a kick and a tin off their menu. They have so many options that sometimes we go and make a whole dinner out of a Tin Fish Board.
You can’t go wrong with any savory board you choose and really anything can be turned into a board-even if you don’t have a board. You can use trays or platters. Just come up with your favorite components and put it all together.
A friend in Boston, makes a Crudites board with tons of vegetables and many different dips such as: hummus, ranch, baba ganoush, and pesto spread.
I have a friend in Wyoming, who makes a hot chocolate board and it is so fun and delicious. She serves a big pot of hot cocoa with mini marshmallows, mini candy canes, mini pitchers of flavored syrups, and for the adults mini pitchers of peppermint schnapps, Bailey’s Irish Cream and kailua . It always makes for a fun after dinner drink + dessert.
In the summer, I like to serve a sundae board: various ice creams, sprinkles, hot fudge, caramel, limoncello (for the adults), cherries, nuts, good olive oil, cones (my kids like to crush sugar cones and ores cookies for their sundaes), and Oreo cookies. It’s a fun way to play with your food for both kids and adults.
Get creative and enjoy. You can make a sandwich board with breads, meats, cheeses, mustards, mayo and more. For breakfast, make an oatmeal board, with all the fixings for oatmeal: brown sugar, raisins, dried fruit, fresh fruit, syrup, nuts, yogurts, milks, and more. Play with your food, engage your family, children and guests.
