The Bare Home’s Holiday Hosting Tips: Charcuterie, Cocktails, & Candles
'Tis the season for celebrating!
Whether you're inviting loved ones into your home or enjoying the festivities on your own, this season of celebration is the perfect excuse to make a dreamy charcuterie board, pour a cocktail, and light a candle.
How to Make a Charcuterie Board
When we make charcuterie boards, they have meats, cheeses, breads & crackers, fruit (dried and fresh), and a mix of nuts and olives. This mix creates lots of variety in colour, texture, and flavour, making it a hit with friends and family.
Where possible, shop at your local farmer’s market to support nearby farmers and vendors. It’s also a great way to discover new flavours and meet new people!
For meats, we reach for essentials like genoa salami, coppa, and prosciutto, sometimes adding chorizo and pepperoni.
When it comes to cheese, we love a mix of hard, firm, and semi-soft cheese. For hard cheeses, we like parmesan, aged gouda, and asiago. For firm cheeses we love manchego for a more complex flavour, or cheddar for something classic. If using semi-soft cheese, try havarti, or mascarpone for a really soft cheese.
From here, fill your board with your favourite breads and crackers. A hearty, rustic bread is delicious and will hold the flavour of the meat and cheese. Artisanal crackers like Kii Naturals offer lots of flavour, crunch, and a different texture than the bread. Or try a gluten-free option like Mary’s Organic Crackers.
Now’s your chance to add lots of bright colour: fruit! A mix of fresh fruit and dried is our preference, but you can do either / or. For fresh fruit try grapes and berries, cherry tomatoes, even apple slices. We love adding dried apricots because they go so well with the cured meats, but you can add any dried fruit you love.
Last but definitely not least are the nuts and olives. Raw cashews are a softer, neutral option but pistachios, roasted cashews or almonds will also work well here.
Cranberry Cocktail Recipe
There’s tons of festive drinks out there, and one of our favourites is the Fresh Cranberry Mojito from Joyful Healthy Eats. It’s light and refreshing, and it can easily be made into a mocktail by skipping the rum and opting for a non-alcoholic spirit like Seedlip instead.
Set the Mood with The Bare Home Candles
Once your food and beverages are sorted, don’t forget to set the mood for celebration.
Lighting one of our hand poured candles will do the trick. A blend of ethically sourced coconut and soy wax burns clean with a cotton cored, non-toxic wick. Featuring natural scents like lavender, grapefruit, cedarwood, sage, and more, you’re sure to find one you love.
Each candle burns for over fifty hours, although it’s best to let them burn for 3-4 hours at a time before blowing them out and lighting a new one!
Thank you for reading all about charcuterie boards, cocktails, and eco-friendly candles! If you have any questions, send us an email at rachael@thebarehome.ca. We can’t wait to hear from you.
