Rosé Wine and a Charcuterie Bouquet

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Cheers! It’s officially rosé season! The best way to enjoy a glass is by pairing it with a rosé bouquet. I created this cute, updated version of our #CoronaCones (aka Charcuterie Cones) using strawberries that I turned into roses, salami rosettes, delicious popcorn, and my favorite Aldi cheeses.

How to Make Beautiful Food Roses 

You know I’m a sucker for a themed snack, so it’s no surprise that I’ve paired rosé with my favorite rose-shaped foods. Both the Salami and strawberry roses (TUTORIAL BELOW) make this the ultimate rose-y snack. I like to add them to cheese boards, breakfast boards, and here in our wine glass version of my famous Corona Cones (click link for full blog post). Pro tip: you can also make avocados into food roses—tutorial coming soon!—just don’t add one to your #CoronaCones, might get a bit messy. 

Start with the Prettiest Salami Rosettes

There are only a few quick steps to make a beautiful salami rose.

• First choose four slices of your preferred salami.

• Fold each circle in half so that you have a half circle shape, and lay them in an overlapping line. Each one should overlap only about a third of the next slice. Make sure that the straight part of each one is in line with the straight part of the next. You’re basically making a little salami train. 

• Start at one end of the “train” and roll them all up into a semi-tight roll. The tighter you go the more your salami rosette will look like a bud—and the looser you go, well, you’ll see! 

• Once you have a nice roll, push a toothpick through the bottom part (straight side) to hold them all together. Push a second toothpick in perpendicular so that the toothpicks cross in the center in order to really secure your rose.

• Finally, flip it around and arrange the “petals” to your liking. You can tug and pull a bit on each piece of salami to make it look like it’s not just a roll up, but a beautiful rose! 

Want to get a few salami rosettes blooming in your next appetizer platter? Check out this quick tutorial on how to make them. All it takes is a few pieces of salami and a couple of toothpicks.

@ainttooproudtomeg

SALAMI HACK #cheeseplate #learnfromme #kitchenhacks #cheeseplatechallenge #salami #minitutorial

♬ Salami CharcuterIe Hack… How To Salami Rosette – Meg Quinn

Strawberry Rose 101

We’re still deep in the heart of strawberry season, so get your rose on! ???????????? To make a strawberry rose, hold the strawberry by the stem and make small cuts in the fruit while slightly pulling each one outward. These cuts should be done with a small knife, like a paring knife so that you don’t totally demolish your strawberry. Make the cuts big enough to be visible, but small enough that they don’t compromise the structure of the berry. You want to make them on each side of the fruit, rotating and moving up toward the pointy end. You’ll need between four and eight cuts total, giving it little “petals”. You can see the way I make these cuts in this instagram tutorial. Each one will look a little different and that’s okay, all roses look different too! 

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A post shared by Ain’t Too Proud To Meg (@ainttooproudtomeg)

What is Aldi? And are Trader Joe’s and Aldi the Same? 

Who is Aldi, you ask? It is a quality grocery store that won’t break the budget. I feel like a kid in a candy store every time I visit. Definitely a great place to shop for board staples. Aldi has an impressive selection of quality wine, cheese and charcuterie supplies, at affordable prices. The La Rue Côtes de Provence Rosé is one of their most buzzed-about products; it’s an award-winning wine for under $10!!!).

Now, this may be controversial, but I was asked recently “Is Trader Joe’s owned by Aldi?” … I didn’t know but it piqued my interest. So I did some digging (this Kitchn article was a great explainer!) and they have an interestingly intertwined, yet separate history. Basically Aldi split into two distinct companies, and one of those acquired all Trader Joe’s stores. All I know is that I’m a superfan of both!  

The Ingredients Rundown

Here’s what I put in my Rosé Bouquet, can’t wait to see yours! 

• The Rosé: La Rue Côtes de Provence Rosé 

• Charcuterie: Appleton Farms gourmet deli selection (made into salami rosettes)

• Cheese: Emporium Selection asiago cheese wedge (cut into triangles), Emporium Selection aged reserve white cheddar, Happy Farms preferred dill havarti cheese (cut into flower shapes using cookie cutters)

• Produce: fresh strawberries (cut into roses), blackberries, blueberries

• Accoutrement: Park Street deli olives, Choceur Rich dark chocolate, Clancy’s white cheddar cheese popcorn

I have the full rundown of this super cute rose bouquet in my stories.

Share Your Bouquets with Me

Nothing makes me happier than your take on my ideas. If you make an individual serving charcuterie bouquet inspired by this post, please tag me at @ainttoooproudtomeg and #CoronaCones so I can see, share, and learn from your boards. Some examples of Cones I’ve reposted in the past below.

And, if you liked this recipe idea, please rate and review. For more takes on the single-serving cheese board see the full Charcuterie Cone blog post.

Photos by Haley Hunt Davis