How To: Holiday Appetizer Platter

I have to tell you a little story before I share how to easily make your own holiday appetizer platter. Last year we were planning to have several families over for a New Year’s Eve dinner. We were going to be out of town for the few days leading up to the dinner party so, when it came to the food, I decided to do something out of character for me—make things a little easier on myself (haha)!

Around that time I received an email from an “organic” meal delivery service (I am not going to name names here, you’ll see why if you keep reading!) offering a super pretty and tasty looking holiday appetizer platter as a New Year’s Eve special. I loved the idea and figured by the time I decided what to add to my grocery list (and paid for a few different gourmet cheeses) it might just be worth it to order their platter instead of making my own. I placed an order and even arranged for a neighbor to receive the delivery since we were still out of town!

Not So Fast

So, with little time to prepare, I was feeling good about having appetizers for 20 “checked off” my list. Now I only had to worry about the entree, desserts, champagne cocktails, setting the table, activities for the kids, etc. once we got home! That was until I got a lovely little email from the company that said they “overpromised” these wonderful platters so I actually would not be getting the one I already ordered and paid for after all. I called and basically said “Whaaat???” and they told me there was nothing that could be done. The platters were sold out and apparently they could not cobble together the ingredients from their nearest grocery store to make it happen anyway. Okay, that’s not nice of me to say, but still—if it were my company that is what I would’ve done! Ugh, not a good first impression of this (new to me) delivery service.

I had been so excited about this pretty holiday spread (with something for everyone!) and didn’t want to come up with a different concept at this point so I just decided to print out their list of what I would have been getting and make my own. And you know what, with a little guidance it wasn’t so hard after all, and it was a lot more rewarding to do it myself. Everyone gobbled up these goodies (both the kids and the adults) so today I’m going to share exactly how you can make your very own holiday appetizer platter for your dinner guests (or to bring as a potluck dish) this holiday season! You’ll be the star of the party with this spread. :)

How To: Holiday Appetizer Platter

The base of a beautiful holiday platter is of course … the platter! I got the white 20-inch platter pictured above from Crate & Barrel a few years ago and use it all the time, but you can buy large serving dishes in most any kitchen or home decor store. They even have some nice ones on Amazon if you’re really in a pinch.

Then the next step is to pick a few items from each category: cheeses, meats, spreads, fruits/olives/pickles, and crackers. Then top it all off with some fresh herbs for a pretty garnish.

HERE’S WHAT I USED FOR MY PLATTER:

Cheeses

• Cheddar
• Manchego (our favorite!)
• Goat cheese (for one soft “spreadable” option)

Spreads

• Blackberry jam
• Hummus

Whole-Grain Crackers

• Triscuits
• Ak-mak
• Crunchmaster (gluten-free)

Meats

• Salami (prosciutto is another good choice)
• Pepperoni

Fruits, Olives, etc.

• Sliced pear (apple would be great, too!)
• Olives (any variety will work, but I chose Castelvetrano)
• Cornichons (aka baby pickles)

Garnish

• Fresh rosemary sprigs

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Simply arrange by alternating items from each category and serve! What would you add to this holiday platter? Please share your ideas with us in the comments!