The Board : A Day Party Staple
Most common of course, the cheese board. At its core, the requirements to conjure an image of one would be: wood, crackers, cheese. Though literally all of those ingredients are negotiable. When I was doing daily service through my food trailer- Puli-Ra, oftentimes the cheese board was sourdough Naan made around the length of the board, buttered with honey and chilies, with three different cheeses on a section of the Naan, pickles, sauces and my signature Gremo. Sometimes it was something else entirely; “Roti Churros”, (Roti dough, twisted and fried, and immediately sprinkled with different flavors and salts), served with different cheeses, a Ranch Raita and some sort of fermented chili action. No matter what, these boards would go over well, while always playing fast and loose of what crackers and cheese could be.
But that’s because a great board doesn’t really need to follow a lot of rules. With that being said, here is a list that looks surprisingly like rules, that in my opinion, will get you board certified for a party in the sun.
* Spice- maybe you don’t even like heat that much. That’s ok. Spice happens on every heat spectrum. If your board is all cheese, with some cornichons and a jam or two, you have not built a board that will sustain a party. You have built a board that is performing Lunchables cosplay, (and not even, that pizza sauce pepperoni combo was a HIT). And when that occurs, you leave guests hungry, with a full board at hand and wanting other courses that may or may not exist. Spice sustains. You will have full guests and a clean board if you add a chili honey, pickled jalapeños, or duck confit with a little black pepper jam. The spice keeps guests motivated to go back, and keep trying different combinations with the heat.
* Texture- A successful board needs crunch, needs pillowy carbs to help a bit of cheese and chutney land, needs crunchy and acidic as hell pickles. A Day Party board is all about doling tiny amounts of serotonin to your guests by fashioning a little DIY action on their part. Scraping the last bit of honey on a sourdough cracker, a sturdy base for blue cheese and some Podi chili oil, goes well with a freshly topped off wine spritzer. Your board will build conversation if your guests are working, (ever so slightly), for the perfect bite. Texture keeps your board feeling fresh for not just seconds, but fourths and fifths.
* Infrastructure- This will read a bit insane, but trust me. I have fed weddings on a well constructed board, I have also seen parties of 25 fall apart due to an ill managed board. And as the architect of both success and demise, the failures teach you more. When catering, you learn a few things, whenever something is self-serve, you are asking for chaos. Therefore, understanding human psychology when it comes to hunger, and how to position ingredients will take you far in your board career, (be it professional or personal).
When building a board, I start with my corners. My carbs I didn’t work too hard making, or nuts or something easily replaceable will make my corners. I’ll then place the soft cheeses, a bowl of Raita, Paneer Ricotta somewhere close to the center. Now that I have an outline, I can fill in spaces. Some people like to repeat ingredients on the board for easy access, I tend to not follow suit. I like the variety and the suggestion for trying to encourage new combinations of bites.
Variety with quality makes the best boards, and remember, bored people are hungry people.
A recent board of mine for reference; (pro tip tamarind and Dosas absolutely belong on cheese boards).
Coming up:
Wednesday podcast drops for all subscribers. (Possibly a wine review, scheduling will determine what kind of episode)
Paid newsletter for the Sicc Palette feed about mushrooms, the earthiest seafood available and the making of your own Old Bay Podi mix.
A thing I’m doing:
I’m so excited to be a part of With Warm Welcome Baker’s Box. It’s 18 pastries from 18 Asian American Austin chefs, the box is for pick-up only at 40 North, 900 W 10th St, Austin, TX 78703, on Monday, March 28th. 10% of proceeds will benefit Austin Asian Community Health Initiative.
You can find the full list here, and pre-orders are open via Tock:
http://withwarmwelcome.com/bakersbox
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Thank you all for your support, I hope you all get the opportunity to party in natural light soon.
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