Charcuterie Board, by Diane

I made this cheese and charcuterie board over the holidays, and while it’s not exactly a recipe we thought it would be a good thing to post as it takes some thought to select the right ingredients and arrange them. I’ll list what I got below, but you want a mix of salty/sweet/spicy/soft/hard to satisfy all your taste buds. Ideally you want meats, cheeses, nuts, fruits (fresh or dried), and pickles or olives. My board has the following:

-Meats: mild hard salami sticks, spicy salami slices, salty prosciutto slices, and peppery capicola slices.

-Cheeses: a sharp rumrunner cheese that was a bit boozy and harder in texture, and a soft cows milk cheese with garlic and herbs.

-Crackers: plainer crackers such as flatbreads, and fruit and nut crackers made with brandy

-Salty items: pickles and olives (I forgot olives but would have included a few kinds)

-Sweet items: soft things like grapes, crunchy things like spiced pecans, and a jam (I used fig jam)



To assemble, you want to start with a pretty plate or platter (I didn’t have one so I used a baking tray covered in holiday tissue paper and topped with clear plastic wrap to separate the paper from the food). Then you want to spread out things that are of the same taste (salty/sweet/crunchy/soft) as well as color to make it more visually appealing. If you don’t have enough ingredients or your plater is too big you can make multiple piles of the same items just spaced out. Finally, for things like meats that are sliced you want to display them by folding in 1/2 then 1/2 again and make a ribbon, or swirl them into flower shapes (I did both). Don’t forget a fancy knife for your cheese!

Frenchy's Chicken Salad, by Diane

About 17 years ago my family and I vacationed in Clearwater, FL and we came off the beach into a casual beach shack called Frenchy's for lunch. My mom and I ordered the chicken salad pocket, which was a beachy type chicken salad with toasted coconut, grapes, and nuts in a pita pocket. We came back for that lunch about two more times during that week, and have since created this recipe at home. This week, I was really missing being at the beach and trying to decide what to come up with for lunch that would be Whole30 compliant, and I remembered this chicken salad. I could've sworn that I had posted this before, but like so many other recipes on this blog, I haven't. This is quick, easy, and a great go-to lunch, not to mention an interesting chicken salad recipe so things don't get boring.  I ate mine in lettuce cups instead of the pita pocket to make it Whole30 compliant and a bit healthier.

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs chicken, cooked and shredded or cubed
2/3 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened
1/4 cup nuts (I picked slivered almonds since I had those on hand)
1 cup red grapes, halved
1/2 cup mayo
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp dried rosemary

Directions:

1. Toast the coconut just until it browns in a small pan, watching carefully and stirring often so that it does not burn (this will happen very quickly so keep an eye on things). Set aside.

2. Toast the nuts in the same pan, with the same process. Although you will want to toast both the coconut and the nuts together, the coconut will brown much more quickly than the nuts so make sure you do this separately. Set aside.

3. Combine all of the ingredients together, stirring well.