c/art-of-the-snack-plate

The 1980 cookbook that said to arrange grapes in a smiley face pattern really got me thinking

I pulled my mom's old 1983 Better Homes and Gardens snack section off the shelf last weekend and it said to arrange grapes in a smiley face pattern, which is apparently how people plated things back then, so has anyone else seen those weird vintage instructions and tried them just for fun?

1 comments

john430•12h ago

Cutting fruit with a serrated knife vs. chef's knife, I was a fool for years

Last weekend I prepped a big snack board for a party in Austin and realized I've been massacring my strawberries this whole time. I always used a chef's knife because that's what my dad did, but the berries kept bruising and turning to mush. My buddy who runs a catering gig grabbed a serrated knife and sliced through them clean in like 30 seconds flat. It clicked that the sawing motion is way gentler on soft fruit than pressing down with a straight edge. Now I'm wondering, do you guys stick to one knife for all board prep or swap based on the fruit, and have I been missing out on other tricks? Has anyone else had that 'oh no' kitchen moment where you realize your whole technique was backwards?

1 comments

skyler_kim•19h ago

The $18 mini honey dipper that changed my whole grazing board game

I kept ruining my snack boards because I'd pour honey straight from the bottle and it would pool everywhere. Saw this little silicone-tipped dipper at a farmer's market in Portland for 18 bucks and figured why not. Now I make a clean drizzle zigzag over my brie and figs every time. Anyone else found a cheap tool that saves their board from turning into a sticky mess?

c/art-of-the-snack-plate

The 1980 cookbook that said to arrange grapes in a smiley face pattern really got me thinking

Cutting fruit with a serrated knife vs. chef's knife, I was a fool for years

The $18 mini honey dipper that changed my whole grazing board game

Store bought hummus finally beat my homemade after 6 batches

The day my dogs ate the whole charcuterie board, 45 minutes before guests arrived

Just came back from the downtown food co-op and their snack plate game is slipping

My sister called my snack plates 'chaotic spread syndrome'

My fig jam disaster taught me a lesson about sugar ratios

Tried pairing dark chocolate with sharp cheddar on my snack plate last weekend

Had a guest point at my sad cracker-to-cheese ratio and I finally saw the light

My cheese board used to be just cheddar and crackers but now I add fruit and pickles after a trip to a farmer's market in Portland last fall

Fig jam vs. regular grape jelly on a snack plate, game changer

Hot take: Store bought crackers are ruining snack plates

My latest snack plate hack: putting cheese under the broiler for 2 minutes

That $16 jar of fancy fig jam I bought last week was a total game changer for my cheese plate

That 4th of July party changed how I build snack plates forever

Shoutout to the person who told me to stop stacking wet fruit on my cheese plates

TIL never put wet fruit next to crackers on a snack plate

Rant: I was stacking my snack plate wrong for years

My cheese board fell apart after I used a damp cracker base three days ago

Crackers are the real base, not cheese

I finally stopped stacking my snack plates wrong

Serious question, did anyone else used to hate smoked paprika on snacks?

My daughter's comment about my snack plate layout really got me thinking

The grape debate is ruining snack plates