Keep charcuterie ingredients on hand, and you’ll always be ready for holiday guests

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. How it’s Christmas week and the very end of the year is still a mystery to me. Last week was packed with parties and holiday fun. This week, the focus is preparing for Christmas Day.

We missed hosting my big, crazy family last year. It didn’t feel like Christmas having dinner for just three, even though it was still a nice day. This year, we are gathering (after everyone gets a negative COVID test) and are hopeful we’ll keep everyone safe.

This month marks the five-year anniversary of this food column. Time flies when you’re eating well, I guess.

The Christmas menu remains a constant tradition at our house and includes Prime rib, roasted turkey, Lebanese grape leaves, lots of other Lebanese foods and many desserts including pies and baklava. My side of the family doesn’t exchange gifts. Food is our love language, so we just gather to eat, drink and be merry. We have relatives who travel in from Denver and El Paso, but mostly my family lives here.

We enjoy hosting on Christmas Day so much, but it’s after Christmas when we can actually kick back and relax. I stock the fridges with tons of various cheeses, dry salami, nuts and crackers so that anytime someone wants to drop in, a quick dash to the fridge and pantry is all it takes to have something to serve them.

I’ve been noticing these darling holiday themed charcuterie platters lately. Some are made in the shape of Christmas trees by using vertical lines of the same ingredient to create a beautiful layered look. Some are made in the shape of a candy cane using alternating red (and some purple) and white ingredients. My most favorite is the Christmas wreath made by using a bed of fresh rosemary to create the shape and artfully layering cheese and meats on top. A quick Google search will give you so many ideas that it’s difficult to choose one, but the idea is to buy the ingredients you love and let your creativity go wild. Some of our favorite memories are of simple holiday cocktail parties.

My holiday wish for you is that you have a very Merry Christmas filled with delicious food, many healthy loved ones to gather around your table and a feeling of nostalgia of Christmases past. Cheers, dear readers, to another holiday season together.

This story was originally published December 21, 2021 at 12:41 PM.