Build an Impressive Cheese Platter

Do you want to serve inexpensive but crowd-friendly cheese, high-end artisanal cheese or maybe a combination of the two? Whatever you decide, keep in mind these basic tips:

• Serve three to six different types of cheeses so it's not overwhelming
• Select cheeses that have different flavors and textures
• As a general guideline, each person will eat 2 ounces of each cheese. If you're serving lots of other food or serving the cheese at the end of a meal, it's usually safe to assume people will eat only 1 ounce of each cheese. That should help you determine how much cheese to buy for a cheese platter.

Cheese can be served on anything from a dinner plate to a serving platter, a plastic tray, a wooden cutting board, a cheese dome, or a slab of marble. Be creative!

Unless you're serving the cheese cubed or already sliced, cheese knives should accompany the platter so guests can serve themselves. If you don't own decorative cheese knives, simply use steak knives (or a cheese plane) for hard cheese and butter knives for soft cheese. Ideally, each cheese has its own knife, but similar types of cheese can share the same knife if necessary. For example, Gouda and Cheddar can share a knife but you don't want vastly different cheese flavors co-mingling, such as blue cheese and Manchego.

Guests always appreciate it when each cheese is identified with a cheese marker. Plus, it relieves you of the responsibility of having to tell guests over and over again what type of cheese is on the platter.

You don't need to have a degree in culinary arts to arrange cheese on a platter. Simply follow these tips:

• Place the cheese on the platter first, then fill in the open space with garnishes. On a circular or square platter, fill the middle of the platter with a garnish (like fruit) and place the cheese around the perimeter. On a rectangular platter, set the cheese in a row with a few inches of space between each cheese (you can fill the space in with a garnish)
• If you're serving a wedge of cheese that has rind on three sides, consider cutting the rind off two sides so guests can easily cut a piece of cheese to eat. If you're serving a small wheel of cheese (like Camembert or Mt. Tam) cut out a small wedge so guests know how the cheese should be cut.
• If you're serving more than three types of cheese, all of the cheese doesn't have to be displayed on one platter.
• If you're serving individual cheese plates to each person, then you'll want to arrange the cheese mildest to strongest. If you're serving one large platter of cheese, don't worry about it.
• Throughout the party, check the platter to make sure it isn't in total disarray.

Fruit adds a healthy element to a cheese platter and the sweetness in fruit also pairs really well with cheese. You can serve fresh fruit or fruit spreads such as fig jam or green tomato and apple chutney. Fresh fruit should be seasonal based on what's fresh in the market.

Cured meat can turn a cheese platter into a meal or very hearty snack. Salami, prosciutto and deli meats like ham and turkey are the most popular choices. Other types of cured meat that pair really well with cheese are Canadian bacon, culatello, serrano ham, and bresaola.

Serve the meat in thin slices or rolled up, either on the same platter as the cheese or on a platter next to the cheese.

Bread and crackers are the most obvious garnishes for a cheese plate. They give people something to set or spread the cheese on and also fill people up so they don't devour the entire platter. You can't go wrong with a thinly sliced baguette - it goes with every type of cheese. Bread that has nuts or dried fruit baked into it, like walnut bread or apricot bread, also pairs really well with cheese.

A simple, plain cracker won't get in the way of tasting the real flavor of the cheese, but there's nothing wrong with offering a larger selection. Many cheese shops offer all sorts of gourmet crackers. Don't stress over which ones will go best with the cheese; just buy what sounds good to you.

Cheese shops are filled with tasty foods to serve with cheese. A few worth trying:

• Quince paste (also called membrillo), fruit spreads, or chutneys
• Nuts
• Honey
• Olives

You can also make your own cheese platter accompaniments:

• Black Olive Tapenade
• Dessert Wine Gelee
• Spiced Nuts

Serving cheese that pairs well with a specific type of wine or other beverage can add another layer of fun to a party.

• Cheese & Chardonnay
• Cheese & Pinot Noir
• Cheese & Syrah
• Cheese & Sparkling Wine
• Cheese & Dessert Wines

Less Traditional Pairings

• Cheese & Cocktails
• Cheese & Coffee