FRUIT & CHEESE PLATES

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To create a cheese platter to serve alone or with fruit at the end of a meal, select cheeses with a range of tastes from delicate, mild, and buttery, to strong, rich, and nutty, to salty, sharp, and pungent. Choose a balance of textures from soft and voluptuous to hard and crumbly. Traditionally, a cheese course moves from mild cheeses to sharp to rich, but for the simplest presentation, arrange cheeses together on a platter with crackers (try crackers seasoned with pepper or rosemary) or thin slices of baguette. A few walnuts and a glass of port might be welcome also.
Some of our favorite ideas for simple fruit and cheese plates are
Grapes with Gorgonzola, Brie, or Stilton
Cherries with nutty Gruyère or Emmental
Goat cheese with clementines or fresh or dried apricots, dates, or figs
Feta or ricotta salata with watermelon and cantaloupe
Pears with Roquefort, Taleggio, or Manchego and toasted walnuts or pine nuts
Plump dates with aged Parmigiano - Reggiano or with mascarpone and toasted walnuts or almonds
A blue cheese surrounded with slices of oranges or Asian pears
Fresh figs or strawberries with thin wedges of Tuscan Pecorino or Pecorino Romano drizzled with honey and olive oil and sprinkled with freshly ground black pepper
In the fall and winter, lots of apple varieties are in season. Choose a couple you're not familiar with and some old favorites. Serve the apples with several cheeses and sample all the different combinations of apples and cheese.