Christmas Wreath Cheese Platter Appetizer

Cheese boards and cheese platters have been trending now for a couple of years, and I'm not surprised. They're a no-bake, quick and easy to assemble appetizer that packs the wow factor for any party!

For my Thanksgiving celebrations, you probably saw that I served my cheese board with fruits and seasonal produce for a "harvest" bounty sort of feel. 

But for my Christmas cheese platter, I wanted a simpler appetizer that was also very festive and even easier to assemble than my traditional, full-on cheese board.

This recipe makes for the perfect last-minute appetizer to serve at your end of year parties and celebrations. 

I've seen these wreath cheese boards all over Pinterest and they looked so fun for holidays and ticked all the boxes for an easy, festive Christmas appetizer.

I didn't bother to look at any recipes up close though, as the cheese wreath platter seemed like a pretty straight forward appetizer to make.

BUT, when I started making it, I quickly realized that although super easy to do, there are a few tips and tricks to keep in mind for a smooth assembly. And to stop you fighting to get your ingredient to balance beautifully on your platter in a wreath shape...

So today, I'm sharing my techniques for assembling a beautifully festive, Christmas wreath cheese platter with you. 

For instance, you need a  really flat plate to stop the ingredients sliding towards the center of the platter.

Also, there's a quite specific sequence of adding the ingredients to make sure that you don't get a mess on your hands or that ingredients fall off to the sides.

Another thing to remember, is that this dish is best assembled where you're going to serve it, to avoid moving the ingredients around and messing up the look of the wreath. This is NOT an appetizer that's easy to pass around. Just saying...

But, you can also assemble the platter the day before, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge. Then bring it out an hour of so before serving to get the cheese to room temperature (tastes completely different!). You may have to tweak the look of the wreath slightly to bring it back to its former glory, but nothing major.

I made a 30 cm (12 inch) cheese wreath that served 4-6 people, and served with herb crackers on the side. But you can easily change up the diameter of your wreath by serving it in a smaller or bigger platter to suit your party and number of guests.

holiday,christmas,cheese board,appetizer,party food,holiday recipe,recipe

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american

Yield: 4-6, 30 cm (12 inch) wreathAuthor: Bird's PartyPrint RecipePin it

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Christmas Wreath Cheese Platter Appetizer

Christmas Wreath Cheese Platter Appetizer - an easy to assemble cheese board that is very festive and perfect for holiday parties!

ingredients

16 fresh bay leaves

• 20-30  sprigs of rosemary of about 15 cm (6 inch)
• 20 green olives
• 10 cherry tomatoes cut in half
• 12 mozzarella balls
• 25-30  Mimollette cheese cubes (or substitute for any hard cheese you like)
• 25-30 Gouda cheese cubes (or substitute for any hard cheese you like)
• extra virgin olive oil, chopped parsley and cracked black pepper to taste

instructions

1. Take a flat plate  (very important to stop your ingredients sliding to the center of the platter) of about 30 cm (12 inch) in diameter and lay your rosemary sprigs in a circular fashion,  overlapping them.
2. Add bay leaves under and over the rosemary sprigs to form a pleasing wreath shape, and add a more flat surface to place ingredients on.
3. Begin adding the cherry tomato halves on top of the herbs and on the inside of the wreath, directly on the platter itself.
4. Add your olives, making sure to tuck them in between the herbs and tomatoes.
5. Next add the mozzarella balls.
6. Finish off with the cheese cubes.
7. Just before serving, add a drizzle of olive oil to the cheeses, sprinkle with the chopped parsley and cracked black pepper to taste.

NOTES:

The cheese and olives are already quite salty, but feel free to add some sea salt flakes to your mozzarella balls and tomatoes if you wish.

This cheese platter is great served alongside herb crackers.

https://www.blog.birdsparty.com/2018/12/christmas-holiday-wreath-cheese-platter-appetizer.html

(c) Bird's Party 2018 - All Rights Reserved

Hope you like the recipe and feel inspired to have a go! If you do, tag us on social media #BirdsParty so we can see and share your creativity! 😍