Vegan charcuterie boards are just one way to inject more plants into your Super Bowl party. They like different shades of olives. Diversity and color are the name of the game when it comes to putting together a visually attractive board, and vegan boards excel in these areas.
People like that rainbow stuff. Adding one sweet treat can also be a fun touch, such as dark chocolate squares on the adult board or Annie's bunny fruit snacks for the younger set. Send questions/comments to the editors. "If you have too many items, don't be afraid to put just a scoop of a dip on the board instead of using the whole container, " suggested Shelby Faux, who, with sister-in-law Payson Cunningham, owns S+P Social in Newcastle, which is known for its vegan charcuterie boards. Whether simple or gourmet, homemade or store-bought, a vegan charcuterie board is a guaranteed touchdown with Super Bowl party guests. An expert who gives advice crossword clue. Put out a little bit at a time, Shanna Bickford said, which is especially helpful advice when it comes to reducing the load of crackers, bread and chips on the table.
Always add fresh herbs and edible flowers to your board to give it an extra pop visually. When Super Bowl Sunday arrives on Feb. 12, I'll be among the Mainers who plan to make vegan charcuterie boards for their annual parties. "Cooking with Plant Based Meat: 75 vegan and vegetarian recipes for all your meaty cravings, " by America's Test Kitchen, $27. The beauty of a vegan charcuterie board is that there are no recipes or size requirements and that any plant-based finger food – from sweet to savory – is in play. In the end, only a guest with sharp eyes could have detected the state outlined in carrot and celery sticks, pea pods and vegan pepperoni, because my design was crowded in by a crush of bowls and plates filled with nuts, pickles, vegan cheeses, tofu dips, olive tapenade, pretzels and crackers. He also delivers vegan versions of Taco Bell's crunchwrap supreme, White Castle's slider, Panera's white cheddar mac 'n cheese, Subway's meatball sub and Panda Express' kung pao chicken and many more. Bit of expert advice. The flip side, though, is that the abundance of options can present its own problems, as I've learned through trial and error. "I do the hard things first. Many vegetarian charcuterie boards feature vegan meats, but others focus on vegan cheeses, tapenades and pâtés. Color is a big deal for me. Last fall, national gift basket retailer Harry & David began selling vegan charcuterie ingredients, highlighting a plant-based trend that plenty of Mainers had already embraced. My own challenge is that I often gather too many items to fit on the board. For instance, a vegan charcuterie board for a Super Bowl party where there will be lots of children might focus on fruits, nuts, nut butters, carrot sticks and bean dips, while a more adult gathering might warrant a board with hard vegan cheeses, plant-based cold cuts, oil-packed sun dried tomatoes, fig preserves, castelvetrano olives, pickled beets, cornichons and slices of fresh fennel.
Bickford shared her system for building charcuterie boards. When I assemble my Super Bowl charcuterie board this year, I'll follow Faux's space-saving advice. "Detail needs to come first, then the refills come last, " she said. Fast food lover turned vegan Brian Watson has figured out how to replicate the sauces, seasonings and textures of meaty fast food favorites using plants. In addition to using a lot of microgreens to plate charcuterie boards, Bickford and her mother sometimes feature hot items, such as stuffed pasta shells and raviolis or vegan phyllo tarts. Leave the crackers off until the end or just put them on the side. The company is known for its charcuterie boards, both vegan and non-vegan. Shanna Bickford runs At My Table catering in Westbrook with her mother, Shannon Bickford. Both At My Table and S+P Social make their own vegan cheeses and dips. Bit of expert advice crossword puzzle crosswords. When a fast food lover goes vegan, what does he do about the Big Macs, Whoppers and Baconators he loves? Veganize them, of course. Placing the crackers off to the side is a technique I've used many times, including once when I set out to create a Maine-shaped charcuterie board. I reached them in Buenos Aires, where they were taking cooking classes, Spanish lessons and enjoying the local vegan food.
Vegan Fast Food: Copycat burgers, tacos, fried chicken, milkshakes, and more!, by Brian Watson, Harvard Common Press, $25. Both Cunningham and Faux are on the road for the winter season. The range of foods is what distinguishes a charcuterie board from a cheese plate or a fruit platter. She can be reached at [email protected]. "Throw all the rules out the window, because vegan food is a balance of texture, flavor and color, " Cunningham told me. Avery Yale Kamila is a food writer who lives in Portland. "Then fill in around the board with your fruits and veggies, nuts, pickled things, sweets. Non-dairy cheeses, plant-based meats, hummuses, cucumbers, grapes, blueberries, strawberries, pickles, olives, salsas, chutneys, tapenades and jams are standard fare on many vegan charcuterie boards, but the creative possibilities spiral in all directions. The Boston-based TV, cookbook and magazine mini-empire experts serve up everything needed to successfully cook with realistic vegan meats. "You want to try to incorporate a mix of salty, sweet, umami, spicy and vinegary items, and also more neutral flavors so that everything can pair together.
Fortunately, it's an easy problem to fix. After delivering product recommendations (the testers preferred Impossible ground meat and Beyond Sausages), cooking tips and flavor-boosting suggestions, the book shares ample recipes ready-made for Super Bowl parties, including pub sliders, Jamaican meat patties, meaty chili, mapo tofu, tamale pie and sheet-pan Italian sausage. "If you have lots of flavorful dips and spreads, find a more plain flavored cracker, " Cunningham said, "If you only have plain hummus on hand and a mild cheese, find an herbal or very garlicky cracker to pair with it. These two cookbooks offer plenty of other ideas.