cheese boards

I received a cheese board as a housewarming gift and I can't wait to use it.  Sometimes my friends just get me, you know?  (My boyfriend thought it was a tile.)

Here are some tips on how to assemble and serve a cheese platter:

1.  Arrange your cheeses clockwise, in order from mildest to strongest, leaving enough room between each for easy cutting.  For example, you could have a creamy brie at 12:00, a mild goat cheese at 3:00, a sharp cheddar at 6:00, and a stilton at 9:00.

2.  Try to have a cheese knife for each kind of cheese -- spreaders for the soft, shavers and sharp knives for the harder cheeses.  I like these from Sur La Table.

3.  Offer an assortment of crackers, fruits, and spreads to accompany your cheese board.  I like water crackers, grapes, honey, and fig preserves.

4.  Feel free to serve any kind of wine you'd like.  You can do wine pairings, but I find that people are particular about their wine and their cheese, and not the pairings between the two.

5.  Serve your cheeses at room temperature.  I know this sounds kind of weird, but it's how you get the best flavor.

a housewarming party

A few weeks ago, my boyfriend and I hosted a housewarming party.  We just wanted to get our old friends together to celebrate our new place.  Here's how we did it:


1.  Invitations
We sent a Paperless Post invitation to our guests.  This picture was taken on moving day, at the moment I realized our new apartment didn't have enough storage.

Paperless Post is my preferred e-invitation website because not only do the invitations look like actual stationery, but it doesn't allow a "maybe" response and guests can't see the guest list.  "Maybe" responses are the worst and guests should attend because they want to attend, not because someone else is attending.

2.  Decorations
I knew I wanted to craft something for the party, so I made this welcome banner using scrapbooking paper and ribbon and hung it on our mantle.  I also made food labels since a few of our guests had dietary restrictions.  French cheeses with their names on flags are so chic.

3.  Favors
I baked a few dozen cookies, put them in little bags, and tied them with yellow ribbon and a "thanks for visiting" note.  Favors aren't usually given at housewarming parties, but I liked the idea of sending our friends home with something homemade at the end of the night.


We hope everyone had a great time at the party.  My boyfriend and I feasted on party leftovers for days, and are looking forward to drinking all of the bottles of wine we received.  That's the thing about hosting.  It might be super stressful, but at least people bring you wine.


Fuzzy pictures courtesy of my iPhone 3Gs.

etiquette tip

Etiquette is a set of rules that can only be observed, not enforced.  Because of this, it's one of the easiest ways to be fancy.  I'll share some of the rules I try to observe, just to spread the fanciness.

Hosting is stressful.  If you've been invited to a party, you should arrive at a party 5-15 minutes after the start time on the invitation so the host doesn't panic and think "Oh, no!  No one's coming!"  Also, you should never arrive early.  If you're going to arrive late, call the host or hostess (don't text) so they can decide if they should start the festivities without you.  

cake pedestals

All desserts served on a cake pedestal are fancy.  This is science.  

1.  Glass domed cake plate/punch bowl (!!!), $35, Williams-Sonoma
2.  Antique rose cake stand, $55, Sweet and Saucy Supply
3.  Sweets medium pedestal, $25, Crate and Barrel (I have this one and I love it.)
4.  Rosanna Pettit cupcake stand, $18, Amazon

single-use soap

I recently attended my dear friend Jenna's bridal shower at a beautiful home in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles.  Everything was absolutely lovely, but one thing was especially fancy:  the single-use guest soaps in the restroom.

The soaps are made by a company called Valsey and Me and they come in a variety of scents like lavender oatmeal and white grapefruit.  It's $75 for a boxed set, $35 for refills, and $30 for a small gift box of soaps.  So, just in case you were in the market for personalized, individually wrapped, single-use soap chips, now you know where to get them.

cheese fondue

Fondue (swiss for "melty deliciousness") is one of those foods that seems fancy, but really isn't.  I use a simple fondue recipe that's easy to divide or multiply depending on how many people I'm feeding.

This recipe serves 4-6 people.

Ingredients

• 1 cup dry white wine like pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and smashed

• 1/2 pound shredded Swiss cheese

• 1/2 pound shredded Gruyere cheese (you can use all Swiss if the Gruyere is too pricey)

• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Dippers

baguette, cut into 1-inch cubes

vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and asparagus (blanched and drained)

sliced apples (squeeze lemon juice on them so they don't brown)

Directions

1. Rub the fondue pot with the garlic clove.  Most recipes will have you discard the clove at this point, but I like to add it to the wine for extra garlicky goodness.
2. In a bowl, combine the cheeses and the flour.  Stir to combine.  This will help the fondue from separating and will help thicken it
3. Simmer the wine with the garlic clove in the fondue pot.  Don't boil it.  You're looking for tiny bubbles.
4. Remove the garlic clove from the wine.
5. Add the cheese mixture to the wine, about 1/4 cup at a time.  Stir to combine.  I like stirring in a "figure 8" motion.  Keep adding the cheese to the wine until it's all combined.
6. When all the cheese has melted, stir in the salt and nutmeg.  I know the nutmeg seems random, but it's found in most cream/cheese sauces and it's delicious, so add it.  

My friends gave me a fondue pot for my 24th birthday. At that point I had never even had fondue, but now I love it.  (wine + cheese + bread = perfect meal)  If you don't have one, you can get a great one at Crate and Barrel for under $40.

Happy fondue-ing!