The holidays can be stressful, so take the pressure down a notch and feed and entertain with a decorative cheese platter. Cheese is a perfect accompaniment to cocktails, an inviting appetizer, or, heck, a casual help-yourself dinner. And with a little thought, a cheese board can take center stage on the holiday table. Everything you need for a cheese board can be purchased ahead, ready to prepare and arranged with simple tips.
Try to balance your cheese selection in strength, texture, flavor, and color. As a simple rule of thumb, select four to six cheeses, depending on how many people you are serving. Vary the colors, textures, strengths, and milk source, such as a fresh goat cheese, a bloomy pungent or washed rind cheese, a wedge of piquant alpine cheese or butterscotch-y Gouda, a nutty Pecorino (sheep cheese), and streaky blues.
