Charcuterie is life

I wish I could tell you why exactly, but I can not. I just love making charcuterie boards and cones. Cones are one of my favorite. Creating the board is just the beginning of enjoying this food. Blending and pairing of flavors, colors, and textures with elements of style is just very satisfying for me. One of the great things with charcuterie, is there is no one right way or a wrong way to make them. Its all you, your taste, your mood for the day. My personal style choice….Farmers Market Finds…

Inspriration at the farmers markets

The Charleston area has many markets to choose from to visit. Our farm visits 5-6 a week ourselves and there is so many more! I love to walk around and see what people are growing, crafting, and creating. I try to incorporate these items in my creations. The cones pictured above for instance has many farmers market elements. 1. Honeycomb and Rosemary from our farm. 2.Olive from Olinda Olives 3. Brie for Charleston Artisan Cheesehouse, 4. Everything Spices on the cucumber from Charleston Spice Company, 5. Duck prosciutto from Vital Mission Farm and 6. which you don’t see is a Rosemary Almond for Nana’s Nuts at the base of the cone. Supporting local farmers and makers is dear to my heart.

Details count

A few small elements can take your charcuterie creations to the next level. These simple wooden skewers look so elegant with the gold bead as the crown on top. Our second choice of skewer used a bamboo knot, this skewer was longer to fit the cone easier and added more texture elements. We also look for a few color elements like the red raspberry and green olive and cucumber. The cucumber was seasoned with Everything Spices for more color and pattern. No one piece takes over the cone, but the small elements together create a stunning edible art.

Why Cones are my favorite

I am a sucker for all things charcuterie, that being said, cones are my favorite. Cones can be displayed in a cone holder which you can see in my image at the top of the page. I made this at one of the those “sip and craft’ workshops in town on a girls night. Mason jars, laid on a platter, or a basket also make great presentation bases. The cone is easy for a guest to grab and continue to walk about and mingle around the festivities. Sometimes I see pieces of boards going to waste because people don’t really want to destroy those beautiful flowers or large waves of meat on a skewer. The cone is perfect for one person to hold in one hand and snack away while mingling. Also, I found cones more economical to display. With a board, I could spend hundreds filling out the area with meats, and cheeses, fruits and vegetables. With the cones, I use less of those elements and still create a grand center display.

Tips for Designing your cones

There are no rules in Charcuterie, but Ill share my tips for my favorite cones. I choose the larger 6 oz cones because I love to fill them up. There are smaller ones available for lighter snacks. The cones fill up pretty quick, you will not need as much as you may think. I like to start with thin breadstick or 2. they are tall, so I put them in first. I then fill some of the bottom of the cones with small pieces of cheese that taste great but dont stay on skewers well or assorted nuts. This helps build up the base of the cone so that other elements don’t end up hiding. I look for a tall cracker next, to place along the back of the cones. This also helps hold up my skewered elements. I place 2 skewers per cone. I like a sweet skewer and a savory one for my cones. My savory is an assortment of meats, with each meat either folded in quarters or rolled into a rose to make them easier to place into your mouth. I alternate the meats with a piece of cheese. A semi soft cheese is often best for the skewer. Hard cheese crumble and crack and soft cheeses fall off. I love the look of that rosemary seasoned olive in the picture above at the top of the skewer. For the sweet skewer, a chunk of honey comb, a fruit and a sweet brie is just divine.