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Whether classic or creative, charcuterie platters are a delight DANIEL NEMAN | St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Imay have this wrong, but as far as I can tell, 'charcuterie' is French for 'a big plate full of stuff.' Charcuteries are one of the biggest trends in the food world right now; you will find them on an ever-increasing number of restaurant menu. Like so many other culinary notions, the idea of what a charcuterie is has evolved and expanded over the years, especially recently. These days, the only limit to a charcuterie board is your imagination.

Please see CHARCUTERIE BOARDS, Page D3

Meat and cheese board

For the meat part of the platter, I rolled up a selection of Italian cold cuts: Calabrese salami, capocollo, sopressata and pepperoni, plus some sliced chicken breast for people who don't like pork. I also wrapped prosciutto around chilled spears of asparagus, which is the best possible application for prosciutto.

I added cubes and wedges of fontina cheese and cubes of sharp cheddar; nothing too fancy to overwhelm the meat, which I think should be the star of the platter. Mini-breadsticks and crackers provided a backbone for the meats and cheese, with mustard to add bite and cherry jam to soothe the tongue with its sweetness.

Roasted red peppers are a natural with any selection of sliced meat, and so are piquant gherkins, so onto my plate they went. Olives are good in pretty much any circumstance, and dried apricots are now traditional with meat and cheese charcuteries.

Nuts are essential. I used pistachios in their shell, almonds and sweet, glazed pecans.

Pancake board

The heart of any pancake charcuterie, of course, is the pancakes. I made a whole batch of them, which is enough to feed six people, or at least four.

I had thought to put blueberries in some of them but decided instead to scatter the berries all around the platter so guests could enjoy that fresh pop of flavor whenever they wanted it. I added strawberries, for much the same reason, and sliced bananas, which are tragically overlooked as an accompaniment for pancakes.

I included a pitcher of maple syrup, and I kept things sweet with chocolate chips, homemade chocolate syrup (I used a ganache) and whipped cream.

I finished off the platter with crispy bacon, because it's bacon.

Martini board

My martini charcuterie started off with an assortment of gins and dry vermouths.

For the snack part of the charcuterie, I made three dishes that go with martinis like vermouth goes with gin.

Shrimp cocktail is an absolute classic with martinis. Deviled eggs pair perfectly with martinis and pretty much everything else.

The third dish I made is less known: cheddar olives. They are simple to make yet spectacular and spectacularly addictive. They also go almost incomprehensibly well with martinis — the salt in the cheese, a faint snarl of pepper and the brininess of the olives are just what gin and vermouth need.

Naturally, I laid out olives (for martinis) and pickled pearl onions (for Gibsons, which are similar to martinis but made with a pickled pearl onion instead of an olive). For an irresistible bit of crunchy sweetness, I brought out chocolate-covered almonds. Pretzels are appropriate with any cocktail, and so is a bar mix of peanuts, sesame sticks and other goodies. And I finished off the platter with more of those sweet glazed pecans.

ST.

LOUIS

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