Friendsgiving Cheese & Charcuterie

GUYS, I love Friendsgiving. Why do I love Friendsgiving? Because it is a holiday all about food. There is no stress about what presents to get people, instead, it’s all about coming together in the kitchen and taking a moment to reflect on what you’re grateful for. One thing I’m grateful for: my friends. Most of my family lives in Chicago and although I always make a point to be with them during the holidays, day-to-day, I spend most of my time with my friends. I really appreciate the positive impact they’ve had on my life, and my way of showing them my thanks is by hosting them and serving them EPIC food. Let’s be honest, I’m still in a place in my career where I need to figure out how to save money while entertaining and thank gourd (see what I did there?! Lol) because Aldi has everything I need to make my favorite go-to entertaining appetizer: a killer cheese and charcuterie board, and awesome wine to pair with it. I am a BIG FAN of Lambrusco, which is a chilled sparkling red wine, and it is an awesome autumnal way to start off a holiday meal.

My go-to tips for a killer cheeseboard:

Make sure you have a hard and a soft cheese
Two types of meat
Tons of crackers
Something sweet (like dates, dried cherries, apples and honey to contrast the umami flavors of the cheese.
Something salty (olives or wasabi peas are my go-to’s)
Nuts for crunch
Fresh herbs for color and even more flavor

The most important thing: fill all the empty spaces of your board to make it look bountiful. If you head to ALDI, make sure let me know so we can celebrate our epicly-affordable Friendsgiving finds together. Happy holidays, fam.