Side Orders: Ideas for a charcuterie-style board that holds breakfast foods

Deviled eggs from The Social.
Deviled eggs from The Social.

Almost every restaurant I've been to lately has some kind of board for food presentation - charcuterie board, relish board, cheeseboard. They are always beautifully done, but most are pretty much the same. You can count on getting an assortment of craft cheeses and different kinds of salami or sausages, a little fruit, artisan breads and possibly some sweet jams and nuts. If you make one at home, they are absolutely wonderful for an afternoon party or an eye-catching way to start a dinner. But what about a morning board?

The thought occurred to me when I was enjoying a cheeseboard recently at Hotel Indigo in Athens, Georgia. Why don't we see boards with eggs, bacon, cheese, toast and jam in the morning? They might be kind of messy; nevertheless, it seems to me like a morning board could be a beautiful thing. So I put my thinking cap on and came up with several possibilities.

You could do stacks of pancakes, though waffles would be a lot easier. You could do eggs, but fried or scrambled would be a problem and hard-boiled seems rather bland. What about breakfast deviled eggs?

Of course you would want fresh fruit on your morning board and some cheeses and artisan breads for good measure. And as long as you're doing waffles, why not some fried chicken tenders? Pick some up from the store to save having to fry chicken in the morning. Chicken and waffles are wonderful together, especially when both are drizzled with warm maple syrup. There are so many possibilities. All you need is a large board or platter. I used a large wooden lazy Susan that worked wonderfully.

Here's a recipe for those delicious deviled eggs to put on your morning board.

Sweet Breakfast Deviled Eggs

- 12 large eggs, hard-boiled, peeled and halved

- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened at room temperature

- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

- 1 grind black pepper

- 2 tablespoons Everything Bagel seasoning

- 2 teaspoons sweet pickle relish, or to taste (optional)

- Paprika

Use a small spoon to pop the yolks from the egg halves, and place them in a bowl.Cut the cream cheese into rough pieces, and add it to the yolks. Use a hand beater, stick blender or stand mixer to blend, starting on low speed and then on high speed, until fluffy and whipped. Beat in the salt, pepper, Everything Bagel seasoning and pickle relish, if desired. Fill egg halves, dust with paprika and arrange on breakfast board or platter.

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Contact Anne Braly at abraly@timesfreepress.com or annebraly.com.

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