Meat and Cheese Platter, For Everyone!

As I continue to mature as a young adult, I am trying to branch out and develop a more sophisticated palate.  I often find, when out to dinner or grabbing drinks and appetizers with friends, the meat and cheese plate is a hot item on the menu.  Being lactose intolerant it obviously isn’t my first choice however, driven by #fomo (fear of missing out) I decided to create a lactose-free and lactose-full meat and cheese plate with my friends for Girls Night!  My very good friends Sarah and Alix have suffered with me through thick and thin and helped me face my many dairy trials and tribulations.  Naturally they were very enthusiastic to take on the meat and cheese plate venture for our fun date. 

Living in Boston, there are so many wonderful specialty food shops to try out.  We went to our favorite delicatessen in the North End to seek out some expert advice.  For lactose-free cheeses, I follow the mantra “the older the cheese, the safer it is”.  Most cheeses naturally contain only 2% of lactose when made!  JUST 2%!  The majority of the lactose is discarded with the whey when the curds and whey are separated.  Who knew that the whopping 2% could give me so much grief?  As cheese ages, the bacteria (gross) that breaks down the cheese to make it parmesan, asiago, blue cheese, cheddar, you name it, digests the lactose - leaving it lactose-free and safe for me!  

We chose parmesan and asiago cheese as our lactose-free cheeses.  Parmesan is one of my favorite cheeses of all time.  It has a nice salty flavor that goes really well with Italian meats and fresh bruschetta (our other menu items).  Traditionally parmesan is aged for about 2-4 years, so you can bet your bottom dollar that lactose is long gone.  Asiago cheese, another Italian cheese, has a very creamy yet crumbly texture much milder than parmesan. We thought it would be wonderful to pair with not only our meats, but also our crackers and fig jam.  Asiago ages for about 20-40 days which seems short in comparison to the parmesan, but according to some serious lactose-free investigation it is safe to consume.  In addition, my lactose-loving friends chose a taleggio cheese that is very similar to brie cheese, however they said it was a little saltier.  Sarah and Alix are possibly two of the largest brie consumers on this planet so I was very proud of them for branching out!

For meats, we went with pepperoni, salami and prosciutto.  All three of these Italian meats are packed with flavor, spices and salt—what could be better!  In the end, these selections made the ultimate Italian meat-and-cheese dream team. Any combination from this plate was absolutely to die for!  We also included fig jam, crostini crackers and olives, all of which took this plate and our newly refined palates to the next level.

In addition to our meat and cheese platter, we quickly whipped up some bruschetta.  We picked up a fresh baguette of Italian bread from our local bakery and sliced 6 even pieces.  We laid them out on a baking sheet and lightly spread butter on top of each piece for some added flavor.  I preheated my oven to broil on high and placed the sheet in the oven, checking frequently to see if they were ready. It took about 4 minutes to reach the perfectly toasted color I was looking for.  Personally, I only toast one side of my bread when making bruschetta with fresh tomatoes and basil— this prevents it from being so crunchy that it is hard to bite into.  When you have a fresh loaf of bread, the last thing you want to do is take away from the delicious flavor and fluffy texture!

For the tomato and basil mixture, I diced two tomatoes and placed them in a small bowl.  I then combined olive oil, garlic, basil, salt and pepper and gave it a stir.  That’s it!  So simple and so delicious.  Top your perfectly toasted bread with the tomato and basil mixture, grate some fresh parmesan cheese, and your bruschetta is ready to serve!  

I have been friends with Alix and Sarah since we were very young, I am so thankful to continue to have them in my life as we grow older.  We have experienced so much together over the years and after much time a part, we are finally back in the same city, making up for lost time!  Truthfully, now that we are back together it is as if nothing ever changed.  Despite all of the maturing and growing we have done as individuals, one fact remains. I still can’t eat dairy and I am so glad they accommodate for this when we get together.  I hope you and your friends can enjoy this lactose-free and lactose-full meat and cheese plate together!  Use it as an excuse to catch up with wonderful friends and try something new.   Just like a great lactose-free cheese, friendship only gets better with age!

Recipe Details: 

Ingredients

1 loaf of white Italian bread
2 large tomatoes
3 teaspoons fresh basil
1 clove garlic 
2-3 tablespoons olive oil (to taste)
salt and pepper to taste 

Preheat oven on broil, set to high.  Slice bread about 1/2 inch thick.  Spread lightly with butter and place in the oven about 3-4 minutes until toasted to taste.  Check frequently to ensure the bread does not burn.  Once toasted set aside. 

Chop two tomatoes and place in a small bowl.  Add 1 clove of minced garlic, chopped fresh basil and olive oil.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Stir until thoroughly mixed.  Top bread with tomato mixture and serve!