MAKE A LOCALLY SOURCED CHARCUTERIE BOARD

Make a Locally Sourced

CHARCUTERIE BOARD

A VERY MAINE CHARCUTERIE BOARD

BY MARISSA DONOVAN

The winter months often come with many party invitations and opportunities to host your own get-togethers to celebrate the season. Creating your own charcuterie board will impress your friends, family and coworkers. Some people are under the impression that charcuterie is strictly meat and cheeses. While scrolling through many Pinterest posts and Instagram photos, you may find that charcuterie has become a catch-all term for an assortment of food. The food can range from cookies to crackers and sometimes even seafood! Here are just a few ideas that will get you ready for your winter festivities. These tasty treats may be found at your local grocery store and food co-ops, specialty shops like Bangor Wine & Cheese, Tiller & Rye in Brewer, and Eat More

Cheese in Belfast, and even online depending on the food item. Support a craftsman by getting a Maine-made wooden board to present all your delectable eats. The board

I use for my snacking needs is made by D4 Woodcraft of Penobscot.

TRADITIONAL BOARD If you’re looking to go the traditional route by using some staple meat products for your board, try getting pepperoni from W. A. Bean & Sons and house-made deli cuts of smoked ham, pastrami and prosciutto cotto from Maine Meat in Kittery. Then pair some cheese with your savory and salty snacks, with Timoney Mountain Asiago Cheese from Sonnental Dairy in Smyrna Mills and Sharp Cheddar Cheese from Pineland Farms of New Gloucester. Pineland Farms’ queso would pair nicely melted, or dice it into cubes with a scoop of Blue Hill’s Sisters Salsa with Salt Crackers from Mill Cove Baking of Portland. This is a great palatable cracker because it tastes like a pita chip and could be combined with other food choices on your board. Temphebe Garlic and Herb Cheese from Ogunquit’s Beryl Marton & Co. and Bangor’s own Pilots Grill Original Cheese Spread are two dippable cheeses for Cheez-Isn’ts from Corinth’s Little Lad’s or Mapleton’s Fox Family Potato Chips. If you would like to add something a little sour, pick up some dill pickles made from The Canning Man of Glenburn.

ADD MAINE SEAFOOD Seafood is the perfect addition to a Maine-themed charcuterie board. Try cuts of Grindstone Neck’s smoked salmon from Winter Harbor, which you could use as a topping for Bangor’s Bagel Central sesame bagels and plain cream cheese. If you would really like to impress your party host or guests, try reaching out to a local fisherman in your area for some lobsters to add tender tails to your board. If you love the idea of adding lobster but are not sure

what to pair it with, consider toasting some slices of a baguette from Tinder Hearth of Brooksville and ciabatta bread from When Pigs Fly Bakery in Freeport.

FOR THE SWEET TOOTH Cater to the idea of a holiday dessert board by adding gingerbread men and frosting from Sweet Cheeks Bakery of Verona Island, graham crackers from Little Lad’s, and shortbread cookies from Sweet Monkey Business in Belfast. Aside from frosting, these sweets can be dipped or topped with Maine Mud Classic Hot Fudge from Wilbur’s of Maine in Freeport and Poland’s Attwood Farm Kitchen Honey Roasted Peanut Butter. If you would like to incorporate nuts and fruits on your board, place a small cup of chocolate-covered cranberries from Wilbur’s of Maine and Cadillac Trail Mix from Lucy’s Granola of East Blue Hill. If you’re looking for a sweet dessert or brunch option, chop up bitesized pieces of sweet cinnamon bagels from Bagel Central to dip into their cream cheese or Wild Blueberry Preserve from Nervous Nellie’s Jams and Jellies of Deer Isle.

There are so many locally sourced food options to feature on your charcuterie boards for the holidays. Accommodate your selection based on the number of people you anticipate feeding, the size of your board, and being considerate of people’s allergies. Hopefully this season you curate some soonto-be food favorites while supporting a variety of delicious Maine businesses!