California grazing board

Cookbook author Erin Gleeson
The Forest Feast Road Trip

“Grab your biggest cutting board to create this colorful cheese platter,” cookbook author Erin Gleeson says. “By piling it all together instead of separating items into bowls, it creates a pretty collage, plus the cleanup is easier!” Let the seasons and your mood guide what ingredients you choose.

Ingredients

Cheese (about 3 oz. per person; see note)
Crackers (2 types with differing flavors and shapes)
Clementines
Orange (such as a Cara Cara sliced into half-wheels, peel on)
Radishes with the stem on
Olives
Cherry tomatoes
Raspberries
Nuts (almonds and roasted cashews)
Dried fruit (peaches and pears)

Instructions

Begin by placing the cheese and larger items in separate areas of the board. Next add crackers in three or four spots, fanning them out in curved lines. Next add a snaky row of orange slices. Arrange medium items, like the radishes, in groups of three. Continue placing the ingredients in little piles to cover the entire board. When it’s mostly full, decorate with fresh sprigs of herbs (like rosemary), edible flowers and any other garden clippings or unique fruits (like the golden berries pictured here).

Note: For cheeses, try choosing three different hardnesses and shapes, for example, one creamy round, one blue wedge and one hard cheese broken into rough bits.

Serves 4 to 6