It’s only 3pm and the day is over, literally! Not sure about where you live, but here in Boston it gets dark by 4:30pm. The days are cut short by 4 hrs as opposed to summer. This makes it harder to shoot food posts b/c of the lack of lighting. Not to mention, not all days are bright and cheery like summer AND I can only shoot when I am free from Ms. Zoey. 

This morning I did a ‘quick’ run to the market to get food for our little holiday dinner party this weekend. It wasn’t so quick as it turns out to be a 2 hr. ordeal. Don’t ask me how or how much I spent. None of which really came out as planned. Well, I actually didn’t have a budget but somehow it always come out A LOT more than anticipated. 

No, I don’t enjoy grocery shopping like I do soaking in a bubble bath (my mommy life is much more interesting than that!). So the fact that I spent 2 hrs of my life (!) at the grocery store this morning boggles my mind more than it does yours. Once I got home, I literally had a FEW short hrs to reorganize the house, do laundry, AND shoot this food post before picking up Z from daycare. Let’s just say my day has been super efficient minus the morning market run!

Back to this weekend’s holiday hosting. The goal is to make this event as EASY PEASY as possible. We often make the mistake of slaving in the kitchen the entire time. This yr, I’m banning that practice.  To help me achieve this goal, I’m going to serve up a charcuterie plate (as appetizer)… no cooking, no assembly, & no mess! A charcuterie plate usually consists of different types of meat but you can make it more exciting by adding pates, jams, cheese, fruits, breads, etc. Slap a bit of everything on a cutting board, Lazy Susan, or piece of slate and it’s free for all! 

Depending on what you serve on your charcuterie plate, your guests can get creative w/ their own fancy nibbles. It’s truly the answer to easy holiday entertaining. Here’s one combination that I came up with based on what’s going to be on my Lazy Susan.  

This combination is just soo yummy! Usually, you’ll find goat cheese with figs & toasts,  but since I don’t fancy goat cheese much, this soft ripened cheese will do. Can you see the glistening on top of the figs? That’s the honey drizzle. YEPPP.

This was my first time trying this brand and it’s super duper yum! I spent about 45 mins standing in front of the cheese section trying hard to figure out what cheese to get. No, it’s not that I’m an expert on cheese and was being picky. I just didn’t have any clue on what types would be good w/ what. I ended buying this one and a hard kind imported from Ireland. 

I can probably drizzle some honey and add pecan bits on top of this and eat the whole thing! In one sitting…that is. 

I find that dried figs are much sweeter than the fresh ones. I’m going to serve both dried mission and green figs. 

What’s all going to be on my charcuterie plate? Prosciutto, serrano ham, soft & hard cheese, figs, fig jam, grapes, hot cranberry jam, toasts, chopped pecans, and olives!

More sneak peeks on what we’re serving for our holiday dinner as time permits! 

What do you usually serve during the holidays? Please share!

PS. It’s no longer 3pm but almost 8:30pm! Took me that long to complete this post due to mommy & wife duties!