Boards and Spreads: Shareable, Simple Arrangements for Every Meal

“The whole idea of this book is to make cooking (and serving) easy,” promises food writer Fahr (Keeping It Simple) in this fun, laid-back approach to entertaining. She begins with board basics, providing helpful tips—when choosing wooden boards, she recommends maple and walnut since they are less water-absorbent—and cleaning instructions (a deep clean with a halved lemon and salt can address stain and odor issues). Next come the recipes, the more elaborate of which require readers to prepare components in advance: the taco board, for instance, calls for lemony herbs and onions and charred corn salad in addition to preparing the chicken and shrimp taco fillings for immediate serving. Other boards come together in a snap, such as the no-cook tartines board, which only requires readers to toast the bread and top with fillings like tomato, labneh, prosciutto, ricotta, and honey. Throughout, Fahr encourages readers to mix and match different components for different boards, offering plenty of variation suggestions (for the pancakes board, readers can swap out the water for Campari for boozy pancakes). Despite the array of options, some may be disappointed to find dessert boards conspicuously missing. Still, home cooks searching for a casual way to spice up their parties won’t need to look any further. (Aug.)