by The Staci Zampa Team
When you find yourself hosting for your family and friends, a dish that is equally as satisfying as it is visually appealing is a big hit. One of the newest and most popular trends in food during the past few years has been the charcuterie board.
Having roots in French cuisine, charcuterie comes from the French word “charcutier”, which was a butcher who specialized primarily in pork products. Classic charcuterie was only based on meat, prepared sausages and other products that could be made in large quantities and kept for a long time to eat throughout the year, whereas today when you think of a charcuterie board, it is usually the cheese that has the primary focus. Making your own charcuterie board gives you a chance to be creative and artistic, all while combining different products that will not only look good in a picture, but also taste amazing.
After years of making charcuterie boards, I have learned that while they are perfect as a large appetizer for a party or event, they make an even better main course for a family. In the past few weeks, we saw that a new shop had opened up in the Bulls Head Shopping Center in Stamford, and were ecstatic to learn that the store focused on providing everything you could ever need to make an amazing charcuterie board.
Cheese and Provisions, which is attached to Turning Point Coffee Roasters just a few doors down, is a dream come true for those who are truly obsessed with creating the best charcuterie boards. When you walk in, you are greeted with a plethora of cheeses and different forms of charcuterie. Not only were the specialists warm and friendly, but also incredibly helpful as they assisted me. They explained the differences between gouda and comte d’arnaud (two types of cows milk cheese), why I would need a good brie to balance the saltiness of the other products, and even which jams would pair best with the olives and cheese. In addition to their great knowledge of the products, they also let me taste everything, which usually doesn’t happen in the cheese sections of other stores.
Along with the diverse cheese selection being brought in from a variety of locations, ranging from France to Connecticut, Cheese and Provisions also had an assortment of charcuterie that was mind blowing. After spending a decent amount of time looking at all of the options, I decided on a classic pate de campagne (a smooth pate made with pork, chicken liver, bacon and herbs), and definitely had to try the recommended Nduja sausage (a spicy pork sausage from Calabria, Italy, that can be spread on bread and crackers). I could have stayed in Cheese and Provisions for hours staring at the fresh cheeses, endless options of jams, olives, crackers, bread, and literally anything you could ever imagine putting on a charcuterie board.
Their products were incredible, especially whole honeycomb which is something I rarely see at stores here in the US. Cheese and Provisions is truly one of the most exciting recent additions to the Stamford food scene, and I will surely be stopping by a few times a week.
Regardless of whether you are making a charcuterie board for 40 or four, you need to stop by Cheese and Provisions in Stamford for an absolutely excellent experience.
Cheese and Provisions
71 High Ridge Road, Stamford, CT 06905
(203) 998-7999
This post originally appeared on The Way We See It