Tell me about your ideal cheese board and have you ever ever made your own crackers ?

[Pollyanni]

Hoping for Friday night traffic to tell me what to take to a dinner party where I'm doing the cheese board. I normally cook so it's a real treat someone else is handling the majority of the food but I want to take some nice cheese and also make biscuits. I offered to do dessert or cheese and they asked me to go cheese. I love the Peter's yard crackers but they're ££ and I can't make cheese but I can bake so thought I'd do a cheese and nut biscuit and a rosemary cracker but all recipes welcome as I haven't done them before !
I was thinking grapes and maybe figs, celery (?) and a chutney and for cheese maybe a creamy one , a Lancashire as I'm from here and some others but a bit quirkier - hit me up with me your faves that I might be able to get at booths or the market cheese stall. Themes of flavours I can adapt to what's available. Hopefully I will find some cheese fiends among you ! Thank you 🙏

@socialdilemmawhattodo oh my goodness. I want to be at that table right now. Just troughed some of my failed crackers with a slice of cheddar A bit like...pastry squares for topping Lancashire potato pie (if you're from here you'll be aware of pastry "lids" being cooked separately!)

Oh no! You do have to roll them really thin and I usually prick them with a fork like you do to pastry.

Doddington. The most amazing cheddar type cheese ever from a small dairy in Northumberland
A creamy, strong blue cheese - Rocquefort or similar
A ewe's milk cheese. Gorgeous English ones or Manchego
A good Brie, Camembert or similar.
A Dales cheese - a proper farmhouse Wensleydale ( not a factory one)

Yes to quince paste. Home made damson jam also goes well with Manchego type cheeses.
A hard no to those revolting cheeses studded with cranberries or whatever. Gimmicks.

Making own crackers sounds like a lot of faff. I used to make my own oatcakes but gave up. Yes it's easy, but sometimes the variables don't work quite right and you are left with a savoury crumble.

@TheFlis I'll try again but not for tonight. My friend wasn't offended I'd tried to make them and we've had a good chuckle about it I'll probably still eat them 🤣

A bit late to the party, but when I was providing the cheese for a large dinner party a few years ago I went to a very posh cheese shop. I was told by the very posh and bossy lady who owned the shop that I didn't want a whole lot of different cheeses. I ended up with a whole soft cheese (can't remember which), which was perfectly ripe, and strawberries to go with it. It went down a storm.

I would never have thought of that, but it was lovely.