The sometimes-unfortunate thing about blogging is, it sort of forces you to celebrate each holiday ~84 times. It’s the only way, peeps. Because you’ve gotta get the PICS. You can’t just wake up on Passover and start shooting your Passover posts. If you actually want your readers (*cue tumbleweed*) to have those ideas on the day-of, you have to do it all in advance. Many moons in advance. So very many moons in advance that your doorman takes to wishing you a misguided but incredibly thoughtful “Happy Hanukkah!” every time you stroll by with more blue construction paper.
In mid-August.
FOR THE READERS.
(*again with the tumbleweed*)
This is probably going to be a lot of fun when said holiday is, say, Purim and there’s Hamantaschen dough flying all over the place and my apartment is decked to the nines in paper chains and confetti and masks.
it is, perhaps, not so fun when said holiday is…Yom Kippur. Otherwise known as the Day of Not Eating Anything.
…OR SO I THOUGHT.
But then I made this giant bagel board with all the colors of the rainbow and now I want to host break-fasts all year long and never look back. The end.
So, let’s talk about how to put a board like this together. For starters, you will need…a board. I own this one from Sur la Table and it has come in handy for so many things. Highly recommend. It’s ENORMOUS, though, and extremely heavy, so…just know that. (Hence the cray cray price point.)
For smaller boards, like…this one, for instance…I’d go for something a little less massive. But when you’ve got to fit dinner-sized portions of food onto one platter, your regular-sized cheese board is probably not gonna cut it.
Next, you’ll need bagels, of course! I found the mini ones you see here at Whole Foods, but you can find them in just about any supermarket (or, if you’re feeling particularly ambitious / insane, you can make your own. The thing is, though, this is Yom Kippur we’re talking about, so you better be ready to make them three weeks ahead of time or else you risk filling up your home with heavenly-scented baked goods and then YA GOT TROUBLE.)
The rest is really up to you. I’m partial to capers and all manner of salty things, so I threw a whole bowl of them on there, and then I added caper berries because…giant capers! Lox or smoked salmon is sort of a “must,” and you’ll want to include serving utensils, of course (not pictured here) and schmear-ing devices (some call them knives) and those kinds of things. Also! I like the idea of garnishing your cream cheese or spread of choice with a few chives or sprigs of dill, especially if it’s flavored—beyond just being plain pretty, that’s a good way to let people in on said flavor and not totally alarm them. And, as you’ve probably heard me say too many times before, I’m not a huge fan of how things look in their plastic packaging—it’s so easy to re-plate everything into small bowls, and it really does make such a big visual difference.
But beyond that, this is really just one of those ideas that you can totally make your own. Pick your family’s favorite toppings, add a few “extras” that you know will please this or that guest, and just give it a whirl. I recommend plating the majority of it and refrigerating the entire board the day before (cover in plastic wrap so that nothing dries out), then bringing it to room temperature about 25 minutes before your guests arrive and adding fresh garnishes at that time. It’s an easy, almost-make-ahead option that’s guaranteed to please just about everyone.
Aaaaand that’s just about all there is to it. Few more photos below in case it’s helpful as you map out your own boards and break-fasts.
Have an easy, meaningful fast, everyone, and let me know if you end up making something similar to this (or tag me on Insta!).
