One more board book review because it’s birthday month and I found one in the library I’d eyed in the bookstore recently. I suppose it was only a matter of time that America’s Test Kitchen would get in on this trend, especially since the whole board thing has lasted more than a year with Boards: Stylish Spreads for Casual Gatherings. One of the main things I like about them is that the whole premise of ATK is to figure out not just what works, but why. In this case, that meant turning a lot of things over to a professional food stylist. This makes sense because boards are about the look as much as the contents. Each board is categorized as “traditional”, “spreads”, or “buffet boards”. Each category is explained at the beginning with the general theory and likely best scenarios for use. “Spreads” for example are for when you can’t decide on a single theme or don’t have a big enough board, so the solution is to use more than one board to allow for coherence but also mix and match options across the set (like the baked potato board).
The introduction also has some really helpful but not too preachy concepts that are the basis for most of what follows, including the combo of store bought with a home-made highlight or two to show off, using items and equipment you probably already have (lots of small piece options? Use a muffin tin), and including a main theme, focal point, and visual appeal (use accents, and there’s another list of presentation tactics nearby).
Most boards follow a pattern: a picture with “start with” and “if you want to add” lists of things, followed by an arrangement narrative, and some recipes. The afternoon tea board caught my eye, and it “starts with” British style currant scones, spreads (marmalade, jam, butter, clotted cream, lemon curd), tea, tea additions (lemon wedges, honey, sugar cubes, cream), cookies (madeleines, shortbread, macarons), and berries. “If you want” to add ham and cheese palmiers, or finger sandwiches, recipes follow. There’s also a scone recipe. If you read the instructions for proper tea brewing, there’s also an option for a ‘tea-tini’ involving diy tea liquor (an infused vodka basically) and vodka. I’d definitely be modifying this (my own preferred scone recipe, adjusting the cookie options, etc.), but I think it would make a great actual birthday lunch for myself if I weren’t going to be out of town for work that day. I do have to wonder why there’s no direction on what kind of tea to use though; given the contents of the board, I don’t think any random selection would work, plus if you’re going with the British theme, then that also has specific implications.
A lot of the boards are kind of predictable like bagels and lox, tapas, nachos, pizza parlor (French bread pizza with toppers; I may have to try this one as that was one of my all-time favorite school lunches), ball park (hot dogs, pretzels, and various toppers), chopped salad, and brunch. I did like that the dessert section was not all candy and cake, and included some more adults options like the dessert cheese board (candied fruit, dark chocolate, brittles, honeycomb, and a “rich, creamy cheese”) and the pavlova board. Am I ever making pavlovas? Probably not, since making meringue is kind of a touchy hassle. I think overall, I like this as a book, but not as well as a cookbook to use. I’ll be trying maybe two boards, and then likely back to the library this goes.
