I think it’s safe to say that cheeses (along with fruit and nuts), have been gearing up all year long for their moment to shine on cheese boards everywhere, now through New Year’s Eve. Antipasto platters, charcuterie boards, grazing tables, and dessert cheese plates are always a win to bring to a party or have set out for when your guests arrive.
If you need items fast, and don’t have time to run to a specialty store, here are six recommendations (some new, some returning) that you can pick up from your local Trader Joe’s to create an Italian-inspired cheese board. Serve as appetizers during mingling or as a more European-take on a less-sweet dessert after dinner.
1. Cassata Baked Ricotta Cheese
Kicking off with my absolute favorite item on this list, new to the Trader Joe’s scene in 2024, is the Cassata Baked Ricotta Cheese. A nod to the famous Sicilian cake known as Cassata, this baked ricotta is a dessert cheese filled with chocolate chips, candied fruit like lemon and orange peel, diced pumpkin, and diced pear. Less sweet than a typical dessert, to me it tasted as if a traditional cannoli and Pastiera Napoletana had a baby. The consistency, the taste, truly delicious, and everyone in my family loved it. I recommend getting two, trust me—they will go fast!
2. Baked Lemon Ricotta Cheese
This Italy import is a lightly sweet and tart combination of baked ricotta that is fluffy, creamy, and refreshing. It's easy to spread onto crackers or a thin cookie, though in my family, on its own is the way to go.
3. Dark Chocolate Covered Pistachios
Green pistachios enrobed in dark chocolate—a nice addition to mix in with plain pistachios to give a bit of contrast to plain and salty nuts. It can also add a great little touch of sweetness to a homemade trail mix in place of chocolate chips.
4. Simply Amazing Soft Dried Apricots
TJ’s always has a pretty solid dried fruit game, but these blow everything else away, in my opinion. These apricots are of the Suphany variety, dried under the Turkish summer sun, then gently steamed to reveal the softest, sweetest, velvet-like textured apricot I’ve ever had. Truly like a natural candy gem, another treat that disappeared at a recent holiday gathering.
5. Green Olive Flats: Authentic Italian Lingue Crackers
Imported from Italy, these flatbread crackers with green olives baked in are an interesting take on savory crackers to serve with your cheese board. Leave them whole or break them into pieces. They are the more rustic cousin to the breadstick and will be great for a variety of spreads.
6. Grilled Pitted Chalkidiki Green Olives in Oil
Sourced from the Mediterranean, these olives are soft and buttery—not quite charred in flavor, but with a subtle smoky sweetness from the grill marks. These olives are perfect on their own or in salads. They look unique too!
…Now all you need is the Prosecco! Cheers!
