While it may not be traditional, a lush cheese board is a phenomenal addition to your Thanksgiving table. After all, if there’s anything to give thanks for, it’s cheese! With fresh Wisconsin cheese, autumnal accompaniments, and even a homemade cornucopia that’s sure to be a centerpiece that your whole family will love.
Building Your Thanksgiving Cheese Board
There’s a lot that goes into a cheese board , but one element is far and above the most important. That’s right: the cheese. Luckily, Wisconsin is home to many of the world’s tastiest cheeses. The key to any successful cheese board is to include a few different varieties to suit all taste buds.
Featured Cheeses
Cello Parmesan: When it comes to aged cheeses, parmesan is the obvious choice for any cheese board. Cello’s variety is aged for 12 months, during which it develops a bold, nutty flavor with notes of crushed apples. It comes in a wedge, so make sure to use a parmesan knife to shave off some chunks ahead of time so it’s easy for guests to nibble.
Cedar Grove Organic Muenster: This mild yet flavorful cheese is deliciously smooth, making it an instant crowd-pleaser on any cheese board. Wisconsin’s cheesemakers have been making muenster since the late 1800s, and this Cedar Grove Cheese shows off all that expertise and experimentation in every bite. It’s soft, creamy, and impossible to stop eating.
Widmer’s Two Year Cheddar: If you ask us, no cheese board would be complete without a Wisconsin-made cheddar. And what better choice than Widmer’s award-winning cheddar? Widmer’s Cheese Cellar has won countless awards and accolades and their cheddar has a special place in our hearts. This aged cheddar has just the right balance of nuttiness, with a firm texture that invites you to take just one more bite.
Roelli’s Red Rock: Few cheeses draw as many ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ as Roelli Red Rock. There’s truly nothing else like it. It’s like if blue cheese and cheddar got together to create a rock star child. That’s right: this is the Blue Ivy of cheeses. This naturally bloomy-rinded cheese leans more toward creamy cheddar than crumbly blue, but its complex flavor profile has everyone intrigued.
Uplands Cheese Rush Creek Reserve: This cheese is your holiday season must-have! Produced only in the fall, this soft, moldy cheese is sometimes referred to as a “savory custard.” When eaten at room temp or slightly warmed, you can lift off the rind and scoop out the soft interior with a spoon. With delicate flavors, a slight woodsy note, and a rich, savory mouthfeel, it’s the decadent cheese that your cheese board needs. Don’t wait to purchase: Uplands Cheese says it sells out every year!
Thanksgiving Cheese Board Accompaniments
Cheese might be the star of the show, but well-selected accompaniments can take your whole cheese board to the next level. This list of carefully curated accompaniments adds some of our most beloved holiday flavors while elevating the featured cheeses. Feel free to add your own sides—cheese loves company.
• Fresh pears or apples
• Seedless red and purple grapes
• Figs
• Candied or honey-roasted almonds
• Candied pecans
• Whole cashews
• Bay leaves and fresh rosemary sprigs for decoration
Assembling an Instagram-Worthy Cheese Board
Half the fun of Thanksgiving is arranging the spread to post on Facebook, right? We eat with our eyes, so it’s important to make your cheese board look as amazing as it tastes. The showstopper of our Thanksgiving cheese board is a homemade cornucopia, bursting with fresh produce and nestled among your array of cheeses. Promise: it’s easier than it looks and well worth it!
To make our Thanksgiving Cornucopia, you’ll need some fresh bread dough (store-bought is fine), aluminum foil, cooking spray, and your inner Michaelangelo. Roll up the foil into a rough cone shape, then sculpt the “tail” into a beautifully rustic shape. Spray liberally with the cooking spray, or your bread dough will be like us trying to get out of our jeans after Thanksgiving dinner: stuck.
Cut your dough into strips and carefully wrap them around the foil, pinching to seal. Once you have a cone of dough, you’re ready to bake, cool, arrange, and become the envy of all your Facebook followers!
Get the full how-to for our Thanksgiving Cheese Board.
Conclusion
Thanksgiving is the perfect time to show your appreciation for your favorite cheeses with a cheese board! If these bountiful boards have you feeling hungry, try our selection of over 300 handcrafted recipes featuring Wisconsin Cheese. Share your autumnal cheese board with us on Instagram or Facebook and become part of the largest cheese community in the world. Don’t forget to read our latest Harvest issue of Grate.Pair.Share where you’ll find even more recipes, stories, and Thanksgiving tips!
Searching high-and-low that one Wisconsin cheese with no luck? You can get all your favorite Wisconsin cheeses delivered right to your door with our continuously updated list of cheesemakers and retailers that allow you to order cheese online. Award-winning Wisconsin cheese is just a click away.