Charcuterie is not new, and it's actually a fancy word for cured meat. The word actually goes back to 15th century France during a time when people did not leave anything to waste. Leftover meat was put through a curing process and formed into sausage or dried meat. For years now, one could find charcuterie all around Europe, yet only recently did this culinary treat hit big in the States. And, we are oh so glad it did!
Did you know there is a rule to Charcuterie. We aren't sure when this rule became applicable, and we don't always hold to it when we create boards, but if you want to create a well-rounded board, it is a good one to follow. It is the rule of 3333. This rule pertains to the number of foods to add to a board and typically goes like this: 3 cheeses, 3 meats, 3 starches, and 3 accoutrements.
Although we think the rule of 3333 is a great one to follow, we are in awe at how creative people get with charcuterie. In fact, the Urban Dictionary defines charcuterie this way,
"French word misused by uncultured monolingual Americans to refer to food platters, regardless of whether there actually is charcuterie (ham, prosciutto, salami, mortadella, etc) on these platters or not
- I made a Charcuterie for my daughter's birthday. It had all kinds of candies!
- What? Your daughter had cold cuts for her birthday ?
So as many things go, people have made "charcuterie" what they want, and we are OK with that!
This year knew we wanted to create a few Valentine themed Charcuterie Boards. Krista wanted to create a fun candy-themed one for her kids, and we both wanted to create one for our hubbies (since our exciting lives don't really lend themselves to big night outs...well, that's not really true, but with her family's busy schedule, Krista knows Valentine's Evening will probably consist of running kids everywhere, and mine...well, let's just say Tom and I just prefer being home.) So, easy and fun Charcuterie boards will be the perfect gift...one that she and her husband can enjoy while running in and out all night, and one Tom and I can enjoy while watching our favorite Netflix binge. The pictures here are a few examples we made for y'all to see.
Once we knew we wanted to create our own Valentine Charcuterie's, we began hunting for the perfect board, and we found it! It's not a basic heart. There were a lot of cute heart boards out there, and we almost went that route, but when we saw this one that can be multi-functional, we were sold. We love a great deal, and when you can get more than one use out of something that is also pretty, we get excited. This board is magnetic and can make four shapes...including a heart! Don't you love it? We linked it here in case any of you want to snag one for yourself. Just click on the photos.
And, since we are trying to focus on "Love Does" this Valentine's Day, we also decided to create to-go mini charcuterie's to give as gifts. We had the best time putting these together, and had more fun delivering them to clients and friends.
We used these cute heart boxes from Amazon. They are sturdy and well made and we highly recommend them! Put one together for your bestie, your child's teacher, or really just anyone you love! Click on the photo for the link!
We hope you enjoyed our little history lesson on charcuterie (lol). And, thank you for reading along and taking a peek at the ones we created. Do you create charcuterie boards? Please follow us and share your pics with us on Social...another fun fact...for some reason we also LOVE looking at charcuterie boards and would love to peek at yours!
All our love...from our homes to yours,
K&K
Sources:
Cominghomemag.com
Stateandallen.com
wineenthusiasts.com
Amazon Affiliate Storefront
