A New Year's Day planche

Happy New Year everyone!

Steve and I celebrated our quiet, at-home New Year’s Day with an early afternoon repast of a classic planche (literally translated as plank) - basically a wooden board on which one places cheeses, meats, olives, nuts or whatever you decide you’d like to have. What’s wrong with that, eh?

Of course we couldn’t help but reminisce about the first of our two trips to Lille, France in recent years to visit niece Christina, husband Glen and children Kiera and Liam. They inspired us with une planche at their home back then, and this year we shipped a few goodies to their current home in upstate NY to give their own planche a kickstart for the Christmas holiday.

Why not do one of our own to start the New Year on just the right note!

Our three cheese choices came from our favorite cheese vendor here in Grand Rapids MI - The Cheese Lady. Such a wonderful array of cheeses with a great selection from many countries. We opted for “Ewephoria”, a firm, aged sheep’s milk Dutch gouda; taleggio, one of our favorite Italian soft cheeses; Stilton, the classic blue from England.

We added some thin sliced ham and mustard seed salami as our meat options, along with sweet and savory toasted pecans (recipe coming below), an olive assortment (for Steve), coarse ground mustard, delicious olive oil crackers from Italy (also a Cheese Lady purchase) and my homemade baguette. Prosecco joined the ranks for our toast to 2021.

Cornichons are a classic addition to a planche but neither one of us cares for them so sayonara to that. One could also add different spreads or dips along with fresh veggies; chutneys, jams or quince paste; even a little pot of honey to give a drizzle of sweetness to any cheese.

What an enjoyable way to spend a portion of our day. We lifted our glasses to 2021 and plunged in.

Steve went with his own combos, and for my first treat I paired baguette with coarse mustard, taleggio and ham . . . . . .

and then moved to a simple chunk of Ewephoria with the mustard seed salami on baguette, a schmear of Stilton on olive oil cracker and some of the deelish pecans.

From there I mixed and matched my way to feeling very satisfied. Good stuff.

Here’s a bit more on the nuts with a recipe for you below.

These are mmmm good . . . . just the right touches of savory and sweet in my book. Try ‘em - I think you’ll like ‘em, especially if you’re a nut fanatic like I am. You can use a mixture of almonds, walnuts and pecans or just go with one nut - you choose.

A full recipe calls for 4 cups of nuts but, unless we’re having a group over (like essentially never during this pandemic), I usually cut it back to 2 cups. That’s plenty for the two of us to enjoy nibbles over the course of a few days.

NOTE: always start with raw/unsalted nuts. Once you’ve mixed them with the other ingredients you’ll be toasting them in the oven. Even when I’m chopping nuts for cookies or cakes or streusel or whatever, I give them a 10-15 minute 300ºF toasting to bring out the flavor and aroma, then cool and chop.

Heat your oven to 325ºF. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

For 2 cups of raw, unsalted nuts: have your nuts measured and set aside; in a heat proof container or saucepan melt one tablespoon unsalted butter (I do it in a 4 cup Pyrex cup in the microwave); blend in one tablespoon olive oil, one tablespoon brown sugar, one tablespoon dried rosemary (I crush it a bit before adding), 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt (once you make them and feel you’d like a bit more, increase to 1 teaspoon the next time), 1/2 teaspoon paprika (I use sweet but if you like smoked, you know what to do), 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander, 1/4 teaspoon cumin and a pinch of cayenne (or more to taste). Stir in the 2 cups of nuts to coat evenly.

Spread out on parchment and bake for 15-20 minutes, stirring a couple of times, until fragrant and browned (if you toast nuts frequently, you just know). Transfer to paper towel to cool. Store covered at room temperature for several days.

Remember that pecans tend to brown more quickly than almonds or walnuts so, if I’m using solely pecans, I pay closer attention and even drop the oven temp a bit. You don’t want those babies to burn, no sirree!

Of course you can ramp up the spices to your own taste, sub in your own favorite spices or herbs and use maple syrup instead of brown sugar. Lots of wiggle room here.

You don’t have to wait for a holiday to enjoy your own version of une planche - you can do it!

To health and safety in 2021. Cheers and warmest wishes to all of you from Steve and myself.