Charcuter-tea! Teacups and teaspoons add a delightful touch to charcuterie boards!

BTS charcuter-tea board. To the traditional display, we've added teacups and fancy teaspoons.

Charcuterie boards have so much to love: salty meats, assorted cheeses, fruits, nuts and even chocolate. It's hard to improve on such a great melding of ideal snack foods, but variations in presentation can bring fun and elegance to the experience. Did someone say "add teacups"? I think they did and we at BTS listened!

Last month, my cher amie, Loretta, sent me an Instagram post from a party planner who served up individual servings of salami, crackers and fruit in teacups. This was a charming and practical departure from the more traditional cutting board platter buffet. 

Rachel & Sean joined us in the charcuterie class. Longtime fans, they had charcuterie at their reception.

Inspired by this creative spin and having a little bit of formal charcuterie training under our belts, we put together an appetizer plate that combined standard practices with a bit of tea time serving ware. In honor of its country of origin, we say the final product turned out "tres magnifique". 

And, on that note, before we detail our latest charcuterie display, en petite peu of tasty history. . . 

Charcuterie, like its Spanish cousin, tapas (or small plates) started growing in popularity in the U.S. in the late 20th century. However, per Harry and David's "The Table", its roots go back to France several hundred years before. The literal translation of "charcuterie" is "cooked meat", referring to a pork-butcher or pork-butcher shop. 

In our charcuterie class, we practiced assembly of meats, cheeses and fruits.

In 15th-century France, local guilds began to regulate food production in every city. These guilds are said to have set the groundwork for combining various meats to serve together. This ultimately lead to the charcuterie plates of today.

The pièce de résistance:  the meat rose - which by any other name would taste as sweet!

A family favorite of ours for quite some time, daughter, Rachel, and son-in-law, Sean, ordered several charcuterie boards for their wedding reception and, with that, introduced many new fans to this rather unusual-sounding appetizer. This same couple, gifted, husband, Chris, and me, a charcuterie class last year. Under the guidance of our expert culinary instructor, we learned how to lay out an array of berries, bries and nuts as well as, the pièce de résistance, the meat rose - which, of course, by any other name would taste as sweet.

Barb and Rachel, charcuterie class graduates.

Which brings us to our latest charcuterie board, assembled last week. Here, we took a tip from Instagram and, along with the familiar items on the meats-and-cheeses tray, we used teacups to hold rolls of prosciutto as well as hummus dip. Tiny teaspoons were added for ease in serving and a touch of gentility.

We'll continue variations to our appetizer tray, but this one certainly is our cup of charcuter-tea!