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Tuesday, April 21, 2020

You're invited to a Virtual Dinner Party!




Hello friends.

Well.

After all these long weeks sheltering down... can we all just release a big deep exhale, pop those corks off some bottles of wine and have a little pretend break?

Because.

I don't know bout you. But I'm seriously beyond ready for a good old-fashioned dinner party with loud voices and a bright, crowded kitchen and lots of good conversation going on...

Oh. And-of-course we have to have some delicious food, right? 

Well, this is the fun part. 
Because You are invited to participate in a Virtual Progressive Dinner Party organized by none other than everyone's favorite blogger-party-planners, Annie of Most Lovely Things, Cindy of Rough Luxe and MaryAnn of Classic Casual Home. And the best part is that you don't need to bring anything! Just yourself. We've got the food handled. 

This is the menu:


So welcome-and-please-come-in.
I'm just finishing up a few more items for my Cheese board. And this is where I should probably tell you that this course is going to be light on the 'charcuterie' because honestly, I'm not really a meat eater and since I like to pretend that everyone likes what I like, I decided at the grocery store to pick up mostly cheese and fruit. 

If you're curious, this is what I have on my platter:



Grocery list

Fresh Medool Dates

Goat Cheese

Croutons
organic baby tomatoes
fresh basil and garlic
Fresh fruit: grapes and strawberries, cantaloupe
Stilton Blue Cheese
Marinated Fresh Mozzarella Balls-Trader Joes
french baquette
Crackers and Nuts: Roasted and Salted Truffle Marcona Almonds and Walnuts
Olive Tapenade
a few slices of prosciutto
Fig Jelly & honey



And here's what I made for you:



It's not your typical cheeseboard.



But I decided to make a different version since--to be honest--it's only Jim and I here right now, and let's see--how should I say this nicely...neither of us needs a lot of decadent cheese leftover in the fridge...so here's what I did:




I brought home a fresh baguette with the idea of having brushetta on the board ...because it's a favorite of mine. 

(Ok, are you starting to see how I made my cheeseboard selections?)



I sliced it, rubbed it down with fresh garlic and baked one side in the oven. Turned it over and rubbed other side with garlic and finished baking on this side until it was nice and slightly toasted.
And that smell! Yum....



There's a cute little vegetable stand near my house where I buy the sweetest organic tomatoes.


At the last minute I saw this interesting video  
on Half Baked Harvest and I decided to switch from fresh tomatoes to roasted, so I popped this into the oven.



Roasted tomatoes, fresh garlic and basil drenched in olive oil and served next to marinated mozzarella balls and bread slices.
Olive tapenade on the side because it's so easy and yummy.


These fresh marinated mozzarella balls from Trader Joes, marinated in basil, herbs and olive oil are ranked in PopSugar's best cheeses from Trader Joes.

I'm a big fan of Caprese salad, made with great olive oil, and I'll often order one for my dinner, nothing better to me--than these flavors together.

Is this more of a California thing?


Side note: If you have to have toothpicks on the table I think putting them inside a vintage cordial glass is a cute touch.

Crispy prosciutto and cantaloupe
...my touch of charcuterie on the board :)


Oh-here's a delicious old William Sonoma recipe that's always a hit with guests. And it's so simple to make.
 Stuffed Medjool dates with goat cheese.


Put a slit in each date. Remove pits. Fill with goat cheese.


Heat a small pan with a generous amount of olive oil and brown the bread crumbs. I prefer to use my favorite seasoned croutons (crushed of course) instead of plain bread crumbs for added flavor. 
When cool, dip each top of date into crumbs. Pre-heat oven at 375 degrees. 

Place dates on lightly oil baking dish, for 10-12 min until warmed through. Soooo decadent!




Is there anything better than fig jelly and Stilton blue cheese on warm slices of French bread?

Don't worry if you're not a fan there's some honey too, for a light drizzle.



I'm also happy making this my whole dinner. With my glass of wine of course. Are you a sweet and salty person too?




Well, I hope you enjoyed your visit here and I truly wish I could open my front door and have you standing right there. I'd just love to do this in person. 

But hopefully, I gave you a few ideas for your own cheese board.

And now it's time to check out all the delicious courses ahead:

Sheri Silver -White Bean Salad in Radicchio Leaves
Rough Luxe - Kale and Brussel Sprout Salad
Most Lovely Things- Caramelized Shallot Pasta
Stone Gable - Asparagus in Puff Pastry with Brie
Classic Casual Home- Lemon Tart w/Shortbread Crust and Berries

Thank you Cindy and MaryAnn and Annie for inviting me to host this party--it was such a fun idea.

And thank you everyone for stopping by today,

xoxo
Leslie

15 comments:

  1. Oh my gosh this looks amazing. I am with you on the meat. I knew you would prepare something absolutely gorgeous and delicious at the same time. You are such a talent Leslie, and your photography is superb. Thank you so much for joining us. You never disappoint my friend!

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  2. Leslie! Your charcuterie and cheese board is so lovely. I am indeed a sweet & salty fan! Everything looks delicious!
    annie

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  3. Oh boy...I wish I was knocking on your door right now! Delicious. My type of feast. I'm pinning everything. Thanks for joining us~

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  4. This is beautiful! Nothing better than a cheese board and yours looks delicious!

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  5. Leslie, I am glad to have found your blog through Cindy and company today. Love your board as it's my kind of food, less meat. I agree this would be an ideal dinner to me and I may make this in Friday instead. I just read your previous post and it's so beautifully put and inspiring. I could not agree more about taking time to pause during this and consider what we are doing daily as we hurtle through life. This has been a gift of sorts and the way we view and use the time will make all the difference. Looking forward to following you. Take care! Kim

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  6. Wow! This looks amazing and delicious! I am on my way over right now!

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  7. This dinner party is amazing... Here by way of StoneGable (Yvonne and I are good friends and blogging buddies). Your photos are lovely! Leslie, whereabouts in So Cal are you? I'm in Orange County (FV). Thanks for the 'recipe'!

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  8. Oh my, Leslie...what a lovely dinner party! We have really cut back on meat eating, too...just don't want to eat it. We enjoy making special meals for the two of us. We eat gluten free, so I enjoy baking our breads...

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  9. Perfection! I love roasting tomatoes! Some g-free bread, yummy tomatoes and sea salt, and I'm a happy camper. :) What a wonderful feast for all of the senses - bravo, girlfriend!

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  10. You want to know the best part? I I really thought you were inviting me over to your home. I was so disappointed when I discovered this was a blog post.

    It's beautiful and I would love every bite. Thank you for the recipes. I would love to copy this in the future. Great job as usual. Actually I really wish I could taste everything. I wonder if I can get all the ingredients from Instacart. Just love it.

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  11. Leslie, I'm so glad to be visiting you today! What a beautiful blog! Thank you for showing us all these easy and so chic recipes for a gorgeous charcuterie board! It looks stunning and decadent but you make it sound so easy! I'd love to make a smaller version and have a fun romantic dinner with Bobby, my husband, for dinner! Yum! I've loved being with all of your darling girls for this scrumptious progressive dinner

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  12. MY PET PIGGY THANKS YOU FOR GOING LIGHT ON THE charcuterie'!!!!!!!
    CAPRESE SALAD as a MAIN COURSE would FLY IN ITALY on a HOT SUMMER NIGHT!
    IMPRESSED YOU KNOW ABOUT THE GARLIC RUB!!!
    ALWAYS FRESH GARLIC!
    NOW my ONLY criticism here is the small mozzarella balls from TRADER JOES are GREAT JUST DONOT BUY THEM WITH THE DRIED HERBS ON THEM!Just plain with olive oil you pour and some fresh basil is the WAY MY ITALIAN BORN AND RAISED would DO IT!
    IT' a BIG NO NO with HIM to BUY any TOMATO SAUCE with HERBS.It TASTES SO MUCH BETTER WITHOUT!
    TRY AND LET ME KNOW!
    BY THE WAY I WILL BE ZIPPING DOWN NOW AND STANDING AT YOUR DOOR AS SOON AS THIS CORONA STOPS PARTY CRASHING OUR BLOGGER MEET UPS!!
    VERY WELL DONE!I ENJOYED THIS SO MUCH!
    A LOT OF HEART WENT INTO THIS!
    BRAVA BELLISIMA...............XOXO

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  13. OMG you are killing me with this cheese board! It's not only gorgeous, but I'm practically drooling on my keyboard, too. Forget the party, I could easily have something like this for dinner at least once/week. I'm not much of a meat eater either and I don't even like prosciutto. And I stay away as much as possible from processed meats like salami and pepperoni.

    I MUST make those roasted tomatoes! No tomatoes in season here yet (yet another reason I NEED to live in California) so I will have to rely on the organic supermarket ones for now.

    I'm a big fan of that marinated mozzarella from TJ's, too. I pair it with fresh tomatoes and basil in the summer and have it for lunch.

    xoxo

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  14. Leslie!! I'm drooling (sorry LOL) over this gorgeous charcuterie board. Goals!! This was a fun, fun idea- thank you for this virtual dinner party.

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  15. What a luscious and beautiful cheese board! I am so afraid to attempt one. I've pinned picture after picture of them on Pinterest but never yet dared. I will sketch out yours and write down the ingredients and plan on one for two soon and make it our whole meal. My husband always keeps dates on hand and goat cheese is the only cheese he can eat now so I know that would be a hit with him. And yes, your little cordial glass is perfect for the toothpicks!

    I know that even a virtual progressive dinner party is a lot of hard work so thanks to everyone for putting it together!

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