Baked Brie with Luxardo Cherry and Shallot Compote & A Halloween-y Cheese Board

Just because it's Halloween doesn't mean your party food has to be hokey. In honor of those friends of mine who hate creepy-looking food, I created this cheese board. My bestie and I co-hosted a Beauty Counter party last night, and she's one of them -- as much as I LOVE making food look scary for Halloween, she's the exact opposite. She even told me yesterday she's "over pumpkin". So, to appease us both and keep in-theme with our Halloween-ish party, I made a "BOO-tiful" cheese board. It's classy enough for any party, and, being Halloween, can also look creepy using normal ingredients. I'll show you what I mean.

As we head into the holiday season, knowing how to create a cheese board for a party will come in handy so many times. Any kind of entertaining situation, whether it's a holiday party or a small get-together, can be the perfect opportunity to make something like this, so I think it's a great "skill" (if you can even call it that) to have.

In this post, I'll give some of my tips for creating a textured, layered cheeseboard for Halloween and beyond, and also share my recipe for Baked Brie with Luxardo Cherry and Shallot Compote.

Funny story about the compote: I woke up at 4:30 am like I normally do on Wednesday mornings to prep for Get it Together, and as I was getting everything ready to head to the station, I just kept feeling like something was missing. It was the brie... there wasn't enough to it. I needed some kind of sauce or preserves or something, none of which I had on hand. What I did have, though, was a new jar of Luxardo cherries in the liquor cabinet, some lemons, shallots and garlic. So at about 5 in the morning, I whipped this up on the fly (as one does) and I'm pretty dang impressed with how it turned out. It's absolutely AMAZING with the brie on a cracker and gives exactly the flavor boost this cheese board needed.

Ok, now onto the tips.

1. Start with the base.

I used a massive cutting board I purchased at Aldi a few months ago. Some other great options would be a silver or black serving tray or a big piece of black slate, which would be especially fitting for Halloween.

2. Place the bigger items first.

The big hunks of cheese and small bowls of dip should be the first items you put on the board, spaced out enough that you can add in meats and crackers in between.

For cheese, I recommend three different kinds. On this board, I used aged cheddar, asiago, and brie.

One of my favorite tricks for parties is to take a wedge of parm or asiago and drizzle some high quality oil over it -- in this case, white truffle oil -- then serve it with a knife sticking straight out of it. I first heard about this on the Bon Appetit food cast and I've done it for practically every party I've had since. The knife really looks Halloween-y!

I added a little pumpkin-cream cheese hummus in the middle. SO delicious! Here's the recipe -- I adapted it a little by adding some lemon juice and more maple syrup, swapping the cream cheese for a vegan version, and omitting the caramel sauce suggested at the end.

3. Add crunch.

I love to have a few different options for guests to dip and layer with cheese and meat. On this board, I added bread rounds, nut crackers, and crispy sun dried tomatoes. The tomatoes, I thought, looked a little creepy on their own, which is what I was referring to earlier when I said that at Halloween, even ordinary ingredients can look a little scary (in a good way).

4. Layer in the meats.

What cheese board is complete without charcuterie? Two kinds is plenty - here, I have Serrano ham and spicy salami rounds. With the Serrano (and the same is true of prosciutto), I kind of accordion folded pieces into what look almost like petals. I find the meal looks more appealing this way, rather than simply laying them on the in a weird, flat pile.

5. Add dark fruits.

This is the key to making your cheese board spooky-beautiful. I chose moon drop (also called witch finger) grapes, blackberries, and dark cherries. You could also go with figs, blueberries, and raisins.

6. Finish with nuts

Scatter any kind of nuts or seeds in the small nooks and crannies left on the board. You can use pecans, walnuts, pistachios, almonds, etc.

Baked Brie with Luxardo Cherry and Shallot Compote

Ingredients:

1 Wheel of brie cheese

12 Luxardo cherries, stems removed

1/2 lemon, zested and juiced

1/2 shallot, finely chopped

2 Tbsp butter

1 small clove of garlic

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350.

2. Place the wheel of brie on a pie pan or baking sheet and into the oven for about 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, heat the butter in a small saucepan over medium, until melted and bubbly.

4. Add in the shallots and stir frequently, until softened and just beginning to brown.

5. Add in the garlic and stir again for about another minute.

6. Add in the cherries, lemon zest and lemon juice. Stir and break up the cherries while cooking, until the liquid is thickened and the flavors have melded, about 5 minutes.

7. Transfer the brie to your cheeseboard or serving plate, being careful not to break the brie open.

8. Pile the warm compote on top of the baked brie and serve.