Boards: Stylish Spreads for Casual Gatherings

by America's Test Kitchen

Join professional food stylist, ATK cast member, and entertaining enthusiast Elle Simone Scott as she shares her tips for creating photo-worthy spreads, letting you in on trade secrets ranging from plating techniques to how she keeps things looking fresh on set (and all party long). Across 35 boards you’ll find over 150 of ATK’s foolproof recipes to build your board around or add that special homemade touch, from a platter-worthy Steak Frites to better-than-storebought dips, and everything in-between.

These days, a grazing board is so much more than just cheese and cured meat—it’s an interactive and low-key yet elegant way of presenting food. Show off your effortless entertaining style with showstopping conversation-starting spreads that are sure to impress your guests.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Nonfiction, Food, Reference

287 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 26, 2022

About the author

America's Test Kitchen, based in a brand new state-of-the-art 60,000 sq. ft. facility with over 15,000 sq. ft. of test kitchens and studio space, in Boston's Seaport District, is dedicated to finding the very best recipes for home cooks. Over 50 full-time (admittedly obsessive) test cooks spend their days testing recipes 30, 40, up to 100 times, tweaking every variable until they understand how and why recipes work. They also test cookware and supermarket ingredients so viewers can bypass marketing hype and buy the best quality products. As the home of Cook's Illustrated and Cook's Country magazines, and publisher of more than one dozen cookbooks each year, America's Test Kitchen has earned the respect of the publishing industry, the culinary world, and millions of home cooks. America's Test Kitchen the television show launched in 2001, and the company added a second television program, Cook's Country, in 2008.

Discover, learn, and expand your cooking repertoire with Julia Collin Davison, Bridget Lancaster, Jack Bishop, Dan Souza, Lisa McManus, Tucker Shaw, Bryan Roof, and our fabulous team of test cooks!

Learn more at https://www.americastestkitchen.com/.

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boards and spreads are definitely a current trend in food/cooking right now. You might think what could a new cookbook have to offer that others haven't already? But, in this cookbook America' Test Kitchen explores three kinds of boards - traditional boards (what you think of with a food board), buffet boards (one main component like salad greens with several topping options in smaller dishes), and spreads (kind of a combo of the previous two categories - creating several boards within a theme). Each board/spread shown gives tips on setting it up, what to make vs. what to buy, and ways to "level up" that board. There are TONS of great ideas and several recipes that I'd like to try as well. Definitely a good addition to the food board/spread theme.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four stars for the recipes, two stars for the set up. There were some good pictures, but when it came to building the boards I was not a fan. My thinking it should have shown the picture shared ideas for what was on the board, and the gave some recipes for some of the items on it. What I did like was at the end of each “board section” there were some variation ideas. I think for this, especially coming from America’s Test Kitchen I was expecting more. Not bad…..it jus could have been better.

[Catherine Woodman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the America Test Kitchen books and this one is very beautifully photographed. The focus to my mind is how to lay out the board, with the things that you would use to make it look good--which is a very laudable goal, but what I am looking for is more spreads and things you can make to add to the things you might buy (like cheese, meats, olives, crackers, fruits, vegetables, nuts, etc) to make the board more special, to raise it up a notch, and this book did not do that for me. If you struggle with layout, this is the perfect book to have, because you can definitely copy the contents and layout easily. I am more enamored with Yasmin Fahr's book on the same subject, but the two together might be the winning combination.

[Lafourche Parish Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elle Simone Scott’s Boards: Stylish Spreads for Casual Gatherings is a wonderful resource for creating beautiful charcuterie boards. As an avid participant in girl dinner, I found this book to be a great tool in stepping up my snack plate meals. She gives in-depth explanations on types of boards, as well as how to create balance both in taste and appearance.

From classic cheese and meat boards to decadent ice cream sundae boards, Elle Simone Scott demonstrates how to turn basics into Instagram worthy works of art. Throughout the book, she gives tips with every recipe that can help you find the perfect balance between taste, texture, and visual aesthetics. For each board, she goes into depth explaining how every board needs the following: a unifying theme, a focal point, something homemade, something store bought, and accents that make it pretty.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn how to level up their board making for social gatherings (or yourself). Elle Simone Scott is an expert in presentation and balancing both the taste and look of boards. Boards: Stylish Spreads for Casual Gatherings has several interesting recipes that I would have not thought of to do as a board, such as the ballpark board which includes hotdogs and pretzels, and the vibrant bruschetta board, which lets your guests customize their toppings for a delicious bite. There is a beautiful full-page photo for each board, as well as recipes and store-bought options for each creation.

Whether you’re entertaining guests or treating yourself, Elle Simone Scott’s Boards: Stylish Spreads for Casual Gatherings is worth checking out.

- Katie, Reference Librarian

[Cheryle · Rating 4 out of 5]

oin professional food stylist, ATK cast member, and entertaining enthusiast Elle Simone Scott as she shares her tips for creating photo-worthy spreads, letting you in on trade secrets ranging from plating techniques to how she keeps things looking fresh on set (and all party long). Across 35 boards you’ll find over 150 of ATK’s foolproof recipes to build your board around or add that special homemade touch, from a platter-worthy Steak Frites to better-than-storebought dips, and everything in-between.

These days, a grazing board is so much more than just cheese and cured meat—it’s an interactive and low-key yet elegant way of presenting food. Show off your effortless entertaining style with showstopping conversation-starting spreads that are sure to impress your guests.

[Will]

There's a nice balance between food styling, assembling, and dip recipes, here. It probably lacked in the fundamentals of arranging things on the board, especially given the main contributor is a food stylist (and it really does look great.) There's a lot of learn here, but much of it is gleaned from the photos. Where there's explicit teaching, it's mostly dip recipes for the food you are arranging.

Some of the ideas are things you probably already prepare, but give you a method for turning them into shareable boards. I personally found that valuable, and will try these out this summer.

[Tess Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this cookbook! I am a huge charcuterie board person and this book was given to me at my bridal shower! It has so many great ideas for different types of boards and the aesthetics behind the design and where to place things. I also love that it breaks down what kind of board to use when. Very interesting and fun to read. Also has great pictures!

[Stella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun to look at, with a variety of different themed boards to choose from, or mix up a bit. For example, the homemade pretzel recipe for the baseball (Ballpark) board could also be used for the Oktoberfest board. I like that it goes beyond cheese and sausage, but I will admit that some of what the author finds easy prep would be a heavy lift for me. Probably why I don't entertain much! :-)

[Cynthia Wheelehan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I waited for my pre-order and this does not disappoint...Fresh ideas for many dishes I love... Many additional new recipes to me with unique presentations... Dinners will be awesome starting this week !

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

The colors and pictures were just amazing. I loved it! It inspired me to do a yogurt board for my Christmas morning brunch and it turned out so great! I love boards and want to learn more about them.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I need this book.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many good ideas.

[Aasinathena · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic book!

[Bookish Ninjaaaaaa! · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some interesting ideas.

[Sue Habib · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love ATK recipes. This was fine, but I didn't find much that was new or innovative.

[Katrina Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and full of amazing information about making food look pretty and appetizing!

[KathleenB · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty and well explained but nothing very original

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

borrow

[Mike Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful pictures for this book. Very useful.

[Artina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This cookbook provided great ideas on a variety of boards. Some of the suggestions were outside of my flavor palette but the arrangements were still nice to look at and get ideas from.

[Finn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love cooking!

[Marnie Z · Rating 5 out of 5]

beautiful book with some great ideas for everything from savory to sweet

[RaeAnn]

A lot I wouldn't use, but does have some fun ideas.

[Brenda K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful photos, ideas, and simple.

[Amy3745 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bringing to Christmas Eve get together, the photo of the Charcuterie board looks perfect for a large group.

[Yvonne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit over the top for what I'm looking for. These are more like feasts instead of simple boards.

[Pinky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Want to try the Muffin Tin Frittatas, the Cheese Straws, and the Salted Butterscotch Sauce recipes.