Spreads: jams and honey add a touch of sweetness. They’re perfect with cheese!
Nuts: walnuts, macadamias, marcona almonds, pecans, pistachios, all the nuts!
Seeds: this sounds funny, but seeds go exceptionally well sprinkled onto cheese, especially soft ones like goat cheese. Have little dishes of poppy seeds, toasted sesame seeds, toasted sunflower seeds, pepitas
Olives: Pick your favorite olives! We like picholine (small green French olives), Nicoise (small black French olives), and Manzanilla (firm smoky green Spanish olives).
Fruit: Any seasonal fruit will do, in the summer berries and stone fruits are nice and in the fall and winter things like pears and apples.
Mustards: whole grain, dijon, spicy brown, honey mustard, English; mustards add heat and acidity.
Pickles: cornichon (those cute little French pickles), picked onions or shallots, pickled vegetable such as beets, peppers, radishes, beans, etc.
Bread and crackers
We like having a variety of breads and crunchy things too.
I’m really into these rye crisps
and these crispy crackers
Mike loves toasted baguettes that we get sliced at our local bakery, then put on a baking sheet at home and toast all at once at 350ºF for 15 minutes.
Of course if you want to go all out, homemade sourdough crackers are the way to go!
