These delicious recipes from the Grocery Outlet Buyer’s Kitchen are created by our NOSH buyers. They work hard to scout out the highest quality and most varied selection of NOSH products at the best prices possible! As they find tasty NOSH items, they develop these recipes to share with you. Enjoy!
Anatomy of a Cheese Board
Who doesn’t love cheese and crackers? We’ve got some ideas for putting together a killer cheese plate, no matter if you’re a master chef or entertaining rookie.
Let’s start with getting a basic cheese plate together. The most important thing to remember is that you’re aiming for foods guests can easily eat with their hands. Finger food items are best.
Tips:
– Incorporate different dimensions, flavors, & textures for a good balance!
– Bread sticks add height and are a great alternative to crackers
– Grapes have beautiful color and are easy to grab!
– Olives, the savory counterparts to grapes, add extra flavor. Try a few different varieties.
– Dried fruit adds a sweet compliment alongside cheese
– Nuts add crunch — and they look great scattered across a board.
Types of Cheese boards:
Pre-sliced Stacker
If you cherish convenience, buy sliced cheese and salami.
Picks & Cubes
Cubed cheese is also a great alternative for convenience and makes a great finger food! Add toothpicks for easy “picking”.
**Saving tip–Use bulk salami pieces, which we cubed alongside the cheese. It’s a little labor intensive but is cheaper than large quantities of sliced salami.
Rustic
A set of cheese knives comes in handy! Simply choose different whole cheese (variety of colors, flavors, textures, and shapes gives the board more dimension.)
Antipasti Skewers
Antipasto (plural antipasti) means “before the meal” and is the traditional first course of a formal Italian meal. In this recipe, we have put an American twist on a traditional Italian favorite. By skewering each element of our Antipasti assortment, your guests will get to sample everything at once! So fire up the Frank & Dean Pandora station, pour yourself some vino, and enjoy!
Feel free to get creative with this concept, selecting your favorite antipasto items. This concept is also great for any time of year, as you can choose ingredients that are seasonal. Cherry tomatoes are a great example for a summer season inspired antipasti!
Serves 10-12.
Ingredients:
2 packages fresh cheese tortellini (Butoni)
1 bottle Italian dressing
1 bag cubed pepper jack cheese
1 bag cubed cheddar cheese
2 containers mini fresh mozzarella “bocconcine”
1/4 lb cubed salami {**saving tip buy bulk salami tips and cube yourself}
2 jars green olives
1 jar pepperoncini / marinated red peppers
Fresh basil chiffonade for garnish
Instructions:
- Prepare the tortellini according to package instructions. Once cooked and drained, place pasta into a large bowl and drizzle with Italian dressing. Mix to incorporate.
- Cut salami into 1/2 inch cubes. Wash the cherry tomatoes. Drain olives and pepperoncini’s. Slice pepperoncini’s into halves for skewering. Chiffonade the basil.
- Set up your “assembly line”. Place all ingredients into bowls and begin to skewer.
- Stack skewers onto a tray. Once completed sprinkle with the basil. Serve & enjoy!
