Christmas Board with Sassool

Hi, friends! Christmas is my favorite holiday of all time, and I couldn’t be more excited to bring you this Christmas Board with Sassool. Like the Thanksgiving Board, I used some of Sassool’s side items as well as the grocery items they carry in the market section. For this board, I ensured I added more colors to make it extra festive. I also challenged myself to get creative with more new-to-me products. Without further ado, let’s jump into all the goodies I got from Sassool to create these Christmas cheese boards!

FROM THE RESTAURANT

Fatoush – I really like Fatoush, and that’s coming from someone who does not like salads–it’s refreshing and crunchy! I really loved having a light salad on the board as the rest of the board is a little bit heavy and dense.

Fruit Salad – I added some dried fruits as well (see under From the Market section), but I love adding fresh fruits to my board, particularly strawberries! They add beautiful colors and different texture.

Jalapeno Cilantro Hummus – Like the Beet Hummus I included on the Thanksgiving Board, this green Jalapeño Cilantro Hummus is so fun and tasty! If you’re debating between the two, you should probably get both because I can’t pick a favorite between the two either.

Kibbeh – From one of my previous visits to Sassool, I remember being pleasantly surprised by how tasty kibbeh is despite the somewhat underwhelming look. Sassool offers classic beef patty as well as vegan patty.

Tabouli – Another type of salad, this one is finer in texture. My sister Jiyoung loves the tabouli and was so happy this was on the board.

Stuffed Dates – These are scrumptious little dessert pieces! Naturally, they made a return.

Stuffed Grape Leaves – I had to put stuffed grape leaves again! Such a classic, crowd-pleasing item. Again, there were no grape leaves left over.

FROM THE MARKET

Kefir Cheese – The most popular cheese of the night, this kefir cheese is spreadable and similar to greek yogurt in texture. We particularly enjoyed the combo of this cheese, the rice cracker, and tabouli.

Eski Kasar (Aged Kashkaval Cheese) – A different kind of Kashkaval cheese than what I used last time, this one was even more savory (I think because it is more aged).

Ezine Peyniri – This (mostly) goat cheese is crumbly in texture as expected but it surprised me in flavor. It is matured with yeast and salt for 12 months so it is pretty savory.

Golden Toasts – These reminded me of Trader Joe’s Brioche Crackers, which I have used on a board before. They’re a great basic crunch item.

Brown Rice Snack Crackers – You know I love my savory so I naturally gravitated towards these. Of four different flavors, I chose Parmesan Herb because #cheese.

Sesame Crackers – As you see, I incorporated a variety of crackers on this board, and these were on the larger end with sesame seeds embedded.

Savory Rice Thins – This was the queen of crackers! Light and airy, these were a perfect compliment to so many things on the board.

Pickled Wild Cucumbers – I picked up a bottle of these because there was a sign saying that these are the pickles Sassool uses in their chicken shawarma sandwiches! Did not disappoint.

Pitted Sour Cherries in Light Syrup – I usually don’t eat cherries, but I felt so fancy with these sour cherries in syrup! Perfect fun addition for Christmas.

Raspberry Fruit Spread – Jam or fruit spread is a great addition to any board since it can balance or compliment depending on what you are pairing it with. I chose the Raspberry Fruit Spread for the beautiful color.

Dried Kiwis and Strawberries – I love adding dried/sweetened fruits as they are a great way to add color. These were particularly good–the strawberry ones are like straight up candy.

Hazelnuts and Walnuts (not pictured) – Nuts are another must for me on a cheeseboard. Sassool has a ton of options, and they have a lot of flavored kinds too.

Dried Figs – Another classic cheese board accoutrement! Sassool has a few different options to choose from.

While I did not grab a bottle, I did take a look at the wine offerings at Sassool. If you are a wine drinker, check out their wine selection! They’re half off on Wednesdays.

If you are looking to celebrate the holiday season with Sassool, they will be offering these boards for sale! The large board ($75) would be enough for ~12 people to snack on, and the small board ($40; pictured below) would be enough for ~6 people to snack on! Email simone@sassool.com for Cary pickups and noelle@sassool.com for Raleigh pickups.

Will you be making a Mediterranean cheese board this holiday season?

Photo credits of board images: Su’s Food News