The Art of the Board

ARTof the BOARD

Curate the perfect charcuterie board with tips and tricks from the experts at Lazy Suzen.

Photography by Marla Bergh

Afew years ago, sales professional Erin Tomlinson was on vacation when she enjoyed what she calls an “amazing charcuterie spread.” She texted her good friend Tiffany Golden, who has a background in florals, with a bold suggestion: To start a bespoke charcuterie business in their hometown of Madison, Wisconsin. “We wanted to work together but we had no idea what that would exactly look like,” says Tomlinson. “Lazy Suzen was serendipitous.”

Today, the two are increasingly busy providing their carefully crafted boards and boxes - even clever charcuterie ‘cones’ - to Madison homes and businesses. We asked them to give the readers of The Living Kitchen a quick lesson on how to assemble a charcuterie board that is dressed to impress.

Tasty pastries and savory accents complete this delectable Breakfast Board.

“We are always on the hunt to find fun, local and different options to add.”

Closet Central

Far more than a place to store clothes, shoes, and accessories this eye-catching, walk-in closet has it all. Illuminated by a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows on one side, there’s plenty of room to spread out and relax in here. The custom, built-in cabinetry includes dual Sub-Zero Beverage Centers that are stocked with drinks around the clock. When the homeowners are craving their morning (or any time of day) caffeine fix, a Wolf Built-in Coffee System is also integrated into the cabinetry making countless variations of café quality brews available at the push of a button.

ISSUE 1 | THE LIVING KITCHEN

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Start with the Platform: They suggest experimenting with wooden cutting boards or interesting-shaped platters and, for large grazing tables, incorporating three different elements such as metal, wood, and pottery. Their one hard and fast rule is that a Brie wheel will always be placed on a round pedestal. “Other than that, we live on the edge!” says Tomlinson

Add Vessels: Next, place the smaller bowls and cups, so you can begin to fill in edibles around them. Pedestals can offer different heights or dimensions elements to a display. “We love little wooden, bamboo, or white ceramic bowls to house our honey or jams.”

On To Cheese: The Lazy Suzen ladies recommend using triangles, cubes, or small broken-up bits of between two to four artisan cheeses. Vary the textures and flavor profiles of the cheeses. Pick your favorites but try something new too!

Meet the Meat: After the cheese is placed, move on to the sliced meats. They like to add curves with a ‘shaped river’ running through the board. “We always use prosciutto it makes the best ribbons,” says Tomlinson. “We also use Genoa salami makes the best rivers and roses, and Capicola can make real luscious flowers.”

Eat your Veggies: Tomlinson recommends heading to your grocery store or farmers market to get inspiration. “Anything colorful that catches your eye when you shop will look great on your board!” Daikon radishes are gorgeous on a spread, broccolini is a great green addition, and rainbow-colored carrots are fun. “Using a mandolin on a cucumber can give you a whimsical ribbon, she says. “You can slice pea pod, leaving the peas on one side, for a stunning addition.” Artichokes add texture, sliced peppers are great, and purple cauliflower is a lovely, unexpected touch.

Dinner is served with this charcuterie board brimming with cheeses, meats, olives, and unique fruits.

Fruit Forward: Take advantage of fresh seasonal fruit like whole blackberries, raspberries, cherries, halved strawberries, and sliced apricots, apples, pears, or peaches. With grapes, smaller bunches are the easiest to grab. Dried fruits, nuts, and olives can round out the board anytime time of year. “We love using unexpected dried fruits such as blood oranges, pineapple slices, Meyer lemons, and cute little key limes.”

Breadbasket: “We are always on the hunt to find fun local and different options to add,” says Tomlinson. Some ideas: sliced garlic baguette, fig and olive crackers, rice crackers, and breadsticks, which add height.

ComplEmentary Condiments: “Honey is a MUST!” says Tomlinson, who also likes to add jams such as fig, strawberry, or blackberry. Savory options include mustards, tapenade, and dips.

Final Flourish: Use fresh herbs, such as rosemary, thyme, oregano, mint, and pineapple sage, as a tasty garnish. Recently, Lazy Suzen has added chamomile blossoms to their lineup, and they also suggest adding non-edible greenery, such as eucalyptus, for a pop of color on larger spreads. A sweet closing note could be sprinkle-dipped marshmallows or chocolatecovered pretzels.

Keeping it Fresh: Party prep: If you are serving your board the next day, it’s totally doable to create the board ahead of time and refrigerate it overnight. Sub-Zero’s precision humidity control will keep your creation pristine. The other option is to cut all your cheeses in your desired shapes, fold all the cured meats and have all the fruit washed and dried. Store them in the refrigerator and assemble everything shortly before your event starts. You won’t have to worry with SubZero ~ everything will be deliciously fresh for your guests!

Leave room for dessert! This sweetly laden board has a delightful mix of cookies, cakes, and seasonal fruits.