Lord of the board

Shauna Ferry

‘Tis the season for creativity, whether it’s decorating your home for the holidays or making new dishes; here on the farm, we’re focusing more on “supporting local.”

As dairy farmers, we meet so many customers who buy our milk to make their own homemade items such as kefir, butter, and cheeses! I was so inspired by all the wonderful types of cheese our customers made that I decided this year to have my new holiday party contribution be charcuterie boards. My first run at it was for Thanksgiving, and all my guests were so impressed – it was a big hit!

If you’re not familiar, charcuterie is a French word that refers to cured meats. Charcuterie boards are traditionally a variety of cheeses, meats, olives, fruits, nuts, and anything else that complements the cured meats. The key with these boards is to have variety, but the placement and coloration of the items make it a beautiful addition to any table. Creating a charcuterie board with as many locally sourced items as I could conjure up or make myself was a little challenging, but an enjoyable experience. It put me onto so many new local food makers and homesteaders.

I challenged myself with making two types of cheese for my first board: ricotta and a traditional Portuguese cheese that’s referred to as “farmer’s cheese,” in English or “queijo fresco” in Portuguese. Both cheeses are soft and white, very easy to make, and I highly recommend them as starter cheeses [see sidebar]. I made the ricotta with our vat-pasteurized Westport Dairy milk and the farmer’s cheese with Pine Hill Dairy raw milk, starting my local product journey!

Because I had made two soft cheeses with very mild flavor, I was focused on finding a couple of harder cheeses with bolder flavors. I attended the Westport Winter Farmer’s Market where Sweet and Salty Farm from Little Compton had just what I was looking for. The first of the two cheeses were “Peach Fizz,” which was dense and bold. It had a sharp flavor with almost a hint of sweet – it would complement the board perfectly.

Although my intent was to purchase two firmer cheeses, I tried the “Little Doughnut” and was immediately sold. This cheese was a creamier cheese, but still firmer than both the cheeses I had made. It was bursting with flavor and perfect to pair with saltier additions on the board. The cheeses were the easiest additions to the board and the board’s centerpieces (rather than traditional meat), but as a dairy farmer, it felt right!

A Happy Meat-ing

The meat was much more difficult for me, as I realized I really didn’t know anything about cured meats! I didn’t have a whole lot of time to learn, so I kept my focus on cured meats I knew, liked, and felt would complement the cheese I had. I went over to our local market, Lee’s Market in Westport, and headed straight to the deli. Unfortunately, the meat was a portion of my charcuterie board that was not processed locally, but I did buy it at the local market, so I felt a little better about that. I chose salami, pepperoni, and honey ham; I felt the pepperoni would add a little spice, salami a little salt, and honey ham that tinge of sweetness.

While Lee’s has an abundance of locally made items, looking through each section of the add ons I was looking for, I realized there weren’t as many local choices as I had hoped for for the other accoutrements. For crackers I went with Mariner, a brand supported by Venus Wafers out of Hingham (I chose sesame and everything). While browsing and reading labels I came across a brand called Pickily, freshly pickled veggies out of Warren. I chose the Pickily Cukes (pickled cucumbers) and the Pickily Red Onion. I was so hesitant at first to add pickled items to the board, but I’m so glad I did because they were both delicious and added a much-needed flavor!

Jam and preserves are in several farmers markets locally when the fruits are in season, but putting together the board in November, the choices were a little limited. However, while searching through labels I found a jam with an interesting local background: Trappist. Trappist jam is made by Trappist monks at St. Joseph’s Abby in Spencer, Massachusetts. They’ve been making and distributing these jams since the 1950s! I chose blueberry and red raspberry and found a new staple in my pantry. The nuts and olives were not produced, but rather packaged and distributed, locally. The olives were jalapeno-stuffed and distributed by Laurel Hill out of Mansfield, Massachusetts, and the walnuts were packaged in Everett.

It was a fun and creative learning experience putting together my first charcuterie board, I loved the process of making my own cheese and I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of sourcing all the items on my board from local makers. Making your own foods at home is rewarding, and the more you do it, the better at it you’ll be. I plan to take on bleu cheese next.

Looking through items to buy locally is not only beneficial for small businesses and farms, but also for consumers. When you purchase fresh items made in smaller batches, the taste and quality are superior. Enjoy!

Homemade Queijo Fresco

Ingredients: 1 teaspoon salt

4 cups milk (you can use either cow or goat milk)

2 rennet tablets (If you can not find rennet tablets locally, you can buy them on Amazon)

Directions:

1) Warm the cow’s or goat’s milk on the stove, but don’t boil it.

2) In a large bowl mix the rennet and salt together and the pour the warm milk on top. Mix.

3) Let it sit for a few minutes. You will see that the whey will start to separate from the cheese. You can now start spooning the cheese into the cheese molds. Fill the molds as much as you can, while letting the liquid drain out of the mold. For the rest of the day keep draining out the liquid by tilting the mold or just using a spoon. You have just made Homemade fresh cheese!

4) This can last in the refrigerator for about 2 to 3 days.

Sicilian Homemade Ricotta Cheese

This is a recipe for my Sicilian grandmother’s creamy homemade ricotta cheese. Great as a spread on fresh bread or add as atopping to fresh Pasta.

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 35 mins

Additional Time: 10 mins

Total Time: 55 mins

Ingredients

1 gallon whole milk

1 quart buttermilk

1 pint heavy cream

1 tablespoon kosher salt

18-inch squares cheesecloth

Directions

Step 1: Line a large colander or sieve with 4 layers of cheesecloth. Set aside.

Step 2: Heat milk, buttermilk, heavy cream, and salt in a large, heavy, nonreactive saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionallyfor the first 10 minutes. Continue heating, without stirring, until the temperature reaches 190 degrees F. Remove from heat andlet stand for 1 hour. The mixture will be separated into white curds and clear whey.

Step 3: Using a slotted spoon, ladle approximately 1/4 of the curds into the cheesecloth-lined colander. Gather up the corners of the topcheesecloth and secure closed with a zip tie. Repeat with the rest of the curds, cheesecloth, and zip ties. Use the last zip tie to thread all of the cheeses together. Suspend the cheeses over a large wooden spoon over a large bowl, and let drain for 2 hours.

Step 4: Place the four cheeses, still in cloth, in a bowl in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, cut zip ties, and transfer cheese to an airtight container.

Shauna Ferry is a dairy farmer, mother, and wife who enjoys spreading positivity, writing, and house plants