Keeping it creative in the kitchen with boards

Keeping It Creative in the Kitchen With Boards

Tonight, I want dinner to be something fun and creative, but doesn't require a lot of dishes. Cooking breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day makes me tired. What I'm trying to say is—I'm sick of doing dishes.

The solution? Boards. All of the boards. Cheese boards, charcuterie boards, breakfast boards, taco boards, and even dessert boards. Using a board as a way to display and serve your breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner cuts down on the amount of dishes you have to clean up after your meal and allows a different and creative way to present your spread. And, throwing everything onto one board just makes life a little simpler and I'm a big proponent of that right now.

Not sure where to start? For a charcuterie board, I recommend cutting up apples and veggies, using dried figs, dried apricots, red and green grapes, berries, peppadews (love the tanginess), cornichons, a variety of cheeses (three to five, as odd numbers are your visual friend here), a variety of nuts, three types of meat, honey, whatever dip you're feeling at the moment, and crackers or bread (try both if you're feeling daring). Pair it with a glass (or more) of cab sauv, beaujolais, or merlot and you're fit to have yourself a dinner that is anything but boring. The best part is you don't have to cook anything—success! Just grab it at the grocery store and arrange at home. Any leftovers you have can be used for lunch the next day.

Once you get a taste of board living, you can explore other concepts as well. Pancakes, waffles, bacon, syrup, powdered sugar, and berries with a side of mimosas can make for a decadent breakfast board for weekend brunch. Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and pieces of rich dark chocolate make for a mouthwatering dessert board. Taco shells, ground beef or seitan, lettuce, tomato, Greek yogurt, hot sauce, pickled jalapenos, black beans, and any other toppings of your choice will make for a killer taco board.

Whatever you decide, we promise that these boards will be anything but boring.

- Victoria Heydt
Editorial Project Manager, The Spruce Eats