Gone are the days of candy-laden gingerbread houses, this season we’re welcoming the stylish and savoury Charcuterie Chalet!

This new and improved holiday house is a feast for the eyes and palate and allows you to indulge your holiday creativity with everyone’s favourite ingredient, cheese!  

Made by Canada’s only and youngest cheesemaster in the world, Afirm Pristine, the Charcuterie Chalet is essentially a 3D cheeseboard that will steal the show of any holiday party. 

Afirm knows the key to perfectly executing the Charcuterie Chalet is using Castello’s premium Cheeses for top taste and quality. 

He starts with bricks of Castello’s crunchy Aged Havarti, then makes a roof made of nutty Vintage Gouda and pepperoni slices, adds snowbanks of mouth-watering Danish Blue Cheese, hedges of Taste Mexico cream cheese rings and Tre Stelle’s ‘fluffier than freshly fallen snow’ cream cheese to hold it all together. And for a finishing touch, he freshly grates Tickler Cheddar over the top.

If you’re looking for a new holiday tradition the whole family can enjoy, here’s how it’s done. (For a full step-by-step video tutorial, visit Instagram @castellocheesecanada)

STEPS: 

Step 1 – Prep Your Ingredients

 

Ensure all your Castello cheese is well chilled for easier slicing and cut into required shapes for bricks, shingles, windows and bushes. Place your Tre Stelle Original cream cheese into a reusable freezer bag for piping. 

Step 2 – The Structure 

Slather a good amount of Tre Stelle Cream Cheese evenly onto your structure and smooth it out with a spatula.  The cream cheese will hold the ingredients to the house. 

Step 3 – The Roof 

Place the first row of Castello Sliced Gouda shingles evenly on the roof, add the second row so that it slightly overlaps the first row and repeat. Place the halved pepperoni slices on the lower roof one at a time and repeat to the top. 

Step 4 – Window and Bricks 

Prepare your windows by piping four small dots of cream cheese on a whole wheat cracker and attaching four small squares of Castello Herbs & Spices Havarti to each. Place your Castello Havarti bricks starting at the bottom centre, and alternating as you move up to create the traditional brick pattern. 

Step 5 – Garland Pillars

Pipe a thick line of Tre Stelle Cream Cheese on all four corners of the house and attach a bread stick to each. Pipe thin lines on the breadsticks and add thyme leaves.

Step 6 – Almond Window and Garland Decorations 

Pipe a circle of cream cheese around the window and place almonds evenly. Pipe more cream cheese to resemble snow and decorate as shown. Finish the house by placing half of the Castello Taste Mexico ring under the windows to serve as bushes.

Step 7 – The Finishing Touches 

Pipe a path for the front door and top with ground candied pecans, then have fun filling the space on the board with all your favourite charcuterie ingredients!  

Final Tip:  Just before serving, grate everyone’s favourite cheddar cheese, the crunchy Castello Extra Mature Tickler for the perfect snowfall effect!

Published by HOLR Magazine.