How to Create a Gorgeous Autumn Crudités

This autumn crudités includes colorful veggies, concord grapes, olives, herbed brie and some very special surprises! A simple tomato bruschetta, smokey mushroom pâté and a little hummus makes this cheese and vegetable platter so beautiful and totally irresistible!

It’s October, so it’s time for my Spooky Movie Girl Club (just me and 2 of my friends) to get together and binge spooky movies! I wanted to make something seasonal and colorful, so I whipped up this pretty cheese and crudités platter!

One of my friends is vegan, so I wanted to be sure I had plenty for her to snack on that would be tasty for everyone too. This crudités was one of the most colorful and delicious platters I’ve ever put together!

To make a perfect autumn cheese and crudités platter, you need a few staples:

1. A colorful assortment of fresh, bitesize, seasonal veggies
2. A sweet, seasonal fruit like grapes, blackberries, figs, sliced pear, sliced apple, etc.
3. A cheese (or 2)
4. A sliced, toasted baguette or crackers
5. Olives
6. Something to dip the veggies into like hummus, green goddess dressing, herbed dips, etc.

To turn it up a notch, I made 2 additions:

1. Bruschetta with seared tomatoes and roasted garlic
2. Smokey, vegan mushroom pâté

I didn’t include the bruschetta and mushroom pâté recipes in the main recipe below because it would be too long, so just follow the recipes above before assembling the platter.

For this cheese and crudités platter, you will need:

• Cutting board & sharp knife
• Saute pan & spatula
• Food processor
• Baking rack with grate
• Pastry brush
• 3 small-medium bowls
• 1 medium-large bowl
• 1 small cutting board
• Tin foil
• 2 small serving spoons
• 1 cheese knife
• 1 large tray – my tray is 16″x16″

How to Create a Gorgeous Autumn Crudités – Step by Step

The whole, beautiful thing was completed in about 2 hours, which included making the bruschetta and pâté, chopping the veggies, toasting the baguette and assembling the entire tray.

1. Slice 2 bell peppers into strips, slice 3 endive into quarters, trim stems of 1 bunch of radishes and 1 bunch of carrots and refrigerate.

2. Follow recipe for Bruschetta with Seared Tomatoes, Roasted Garlic.

3. Follow recipe for Vegan Mushroom Pâté.

4. Set oven temp to 350 F. (176 C.) Slice a baguette into thin slices and brush each slice with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic powder on a baking rack. Toast for 10-12 minutes.

5. Line a tray with tin foil and assemble chopped vegetables in the upper right corner. My tray is 16”x16.”

6. Place bowls for bruschetta, pâté and olives in the lower left along the edge of the tray. Place a small cutting board on the right side of the tray and fill in empty spaces with a little arugula.

7. Place a lovely bunch of concord grapes in the center and fill bowl with pâté. It’s nice to sprinkle a little smoked paprika on top.

8. Fill bowl with seared tomatoes for the bruschetta.

9. Fill bowl with olives.

10. Fill bowl with hummus or veggie dip and unwrap/place your cheese.

11. For a little loveliness, add a few simple, seasonal flowers.

12. Fill a bowl in the upper left with garlic toasts and serve your gorgeous crudités!

And just a suggestion: Constant Comment Hot Toddies or hot cider with a little whisky, orange, lemon and a cinnamon stick makes a perfect, cozy fall cocktail to serve with this gorgeous autumn crudités!

Help Yourself to More Autumn Recipe Inspiration!

• Pumpkin Spice Carrot Cupcakes
• Skirt Steak Appetizers with Concord Grape Reduction
• The “Autumn Twilight” Grape & Rosemary Cocktail
• Cranberry Apple Crisp with Maple Granola
• How to Create a Beautiful Halloween Appetizer Centerpiece

And for more inspiration, follow me on INSTAGRAM @shekeepsalovelyhome, on PINTEREST and FACEBOOK! And if you ever make any of my tasty drinks or treats, take a picture and tag me. I want to see!