Your favoured cheese-board accompaniments?

[Landlord]

Hey,

So - what do you guys like/have liked or been impressed with/pleasantly suprised by as accompaniments to a cheese board.

I've been told what cheeses are desired but I'd like to go the extra mile and really wow the diners with accompaniments.

I like the idea of a wine jelly in cubes (courtesy of nick_j007s thread) or maybe port etc (will experiment) but what else has tickled your fancy? I'm after any ideas - "obvious" ones are grapes, celery (esp. the leaf/top stalk), apples, pears, gherkins.

Any favourite chutneys? Other swanky things (that can be made quickly - I only have this week). How about stockists/online places?

How about biscuits/crackers - I don't really want to stick with Tesco value/Jacobs standard stuff.

Thanks!
Phil.

[Melman Giraffe]

Mango chutney with a really strong chedder

[adycav]

A nice caramelised onion chutney and some walnuts.

[Roger645]

This:

http://www.englishprovender.com/organic-products/2...

[escargot]

A well aged fruit cake. Seriously.

[Chim Girl]

escargot said:

A well aged fruit cake. Seriously.

[Podie]

Port.

[Podie]

Podie said:

Port.

Scrub that. A decent colheita.

[EarlOfHazard]

pickled onions. works for me anyway.

[Podie]

EarlOfHazard said:

pickled onions. works for me anyway.

or onion marmalade

[Landlord]

Thanks for the ideas! Not sure I've time to do the well-aged fruit cake Phil (unless you can buy such a thing ) but it certainly seems a wow factor thing!

Pickled onions - hmmm, I wonder if there's such a thing as posh ones?

More ideas welcome...

[EarlOfHazard]

pineapple, pear, grape! silverskin pickled onions should suffice as 'posher' than the bigger 'fish and chip shop' variety. oh just remembered, picallily

[escargot]

Landlord said:

Thanks for the ideas! Not sure I've time to do the well-aged fruit cake Phil (unless you can buy such a thing ) but it certainly seems a wow factor thing!

Just buy one chap. Life's too short for making and maturing fruit cake unless it's Christmas.

I reckon you'd pick something fairly decent up from Selfridges/M&S/Waitrose et al, unless you're fortunate enough to know someone that bakes cakes for a living.

[Landlord]

escargot said:

unless you're fortunate enough to know someone that bakes cakes for a living.

Do you know what, I think we do...

[bennno]

Quince Jelly is what you want as a classy side....plus some grapes, oatcakes

sainsburys..

[Noger]

Port only goes with some cheeses, not all. Same with red wine.

White wine, other than the obvious Sauternes, can work wonders. As can sparking wine.

So why not do a tasting with different cheeses and White wines ?

Wensleydale and an Auslese
Somerset Brie and Camel valley fizz
Goats cheese and Sauvignon

[spikeyhead]

Chim Girl said:

escargot said:

A well aged fruit cake. Seriously.

Another vote for fruit cake, works very well with cheese.

[Noger]

Works brilliantly with some English hard cheeses. As does beetroot.

Not convinced I want Vacherin and Fruit cake, however.

Or picallilli and mozzarella.

[Mobile Chicane]

Figs. Only when very ripe, however.

[Lefty]

Heavily sherried or port-finished whisky.