Ben and Jessie gave me a great birthday gift this year. Beautiful and useful, they gifted me this Reclaimed Slate Cheese Board and a set of Four Stainless Steel Swissmar Cheese Knives.

I love how unique the cheeseboard is— it is made of reclaimed chalkboards and has wine cork feet to prevent scratching a table. I also love the fact that I can write down all the cheese options for my guests. I often serve a cheese plate during appetizers, and this is a great way to do so.

I actually served this last week for the Final Four (although the sophistication and beauty of the Masters clearly screams for a cheese plate, too!) We had a Midnight Moon Goat, Manchego, and, one of my favorites, Humboldt Fog, a soft goat cheese. I served all three with some crostini and 2 Gracious Gourmet spreads— Fig Almond and Mango Pineapple Chutney. The Mango Pineapple Chutney, fruity and tropical, was a perfect compliment to the Midnight Moon (a nutty, firm goat cheese). The Fig Almond spread went well with all three, but I especially loved it paired with Humboldt Fog.

Everyone loved the beautiful plate, but even more we all kept heading back for more cheese and Gracious Gourmet. It was a great addition to the table!