Cheese Board with Champagne and Ginger Chutney and Coconut. Ginger. Shrimp. Rum.

Coconut. Ginger. Shrimp. Rum.: Caribbean Flavors for Every Season, written by Brigid Washington, features the bright and vibrant seasonal flavors of the Caribbean in 80 beautiful recipes. Highlights include Garlicky Parmesan Shrimp & Fava Bean Ravioli with Spinach Almond Pesto, Grapefruit Ginger Prosecco Popsicles, Rum Laced Pumpkin Pie, Coconut Panzanella Salad, and Creamy Coconut Brussel Sprout Gratin with Red Pepper Relish. I will also be sharing her recipe for a Cheese Board with Champagne and Ginger Chutney following the review.

Disclosure: I received this book from Skyhorse Publishing in exchange for my honest review. All opinions and statements are my own. This post contains Amazon affiliate links. If you purchase something through the link, I may receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.

Brigid Washington

Brigid Washington is a chef and journalist from Trinidad and Tobago. She was the editor-in-chief of the Culinary Institute of America monthly publication La Papillote and focuses on modern American food, especially finding new ways to work with fresh vegetables. She now lives with her family in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Coconut. Ginger. Shrimp. Rum.

Brigid begins with a closer look at the ingredients: Coconut, Ginger, Shrimp, and Rum with descriptions, health benefits, and uses. She also gives a few tips to help in preparation of the recipes such as how to peel ginger and saving shrimp shells for future use in stock.

Chapters are divided based on season: Spring (Nature’s Opening Act), Summer (Late Nights & Endless Libations), Fall (Only God Could Create Those Colors), and Winter (A Stiff Back; A Harbinger of Hope). They are then further divided into Light Fare, Mains, To Sip, and Sweet Endings.

Every dish is followed by a headnote with background information and tips. Ingredients are listed in US Customary. Many of the recipes are accompanied by a quarter to full page photograph of the finished dish taken by Immanuel Keester.

Coconut. Ginger. Shrimp. Rum. is a great pick for those looking for new ideas featuring coconut, ginger, shrimp, or rum as the star. Brigid has developed these recipes with the home cook in mind and many are easy to put together.  The separation of recipes based on season is helpful if you are looking for a particular way to use produce such as rhubarb and fava beans in spring, tomatoes and corn in the summer, kale and sweet potato in the fall, or pomegranates and blood oranges in the winter.

Most of the ingredients are readily available in the average American grocery store. Having a spirits and liquor store nearby will be helpful for the variety of cocktails (intended only for those over the age of 21 in the United States- please drink responsibly).

Cheese Board with Champagne and Ginger Chutney

I have been wanting to experiment more with cheese boards and was excited to come across this one with Champagne and Ginger Chutney as the star.

Brigid’s looked gorgeous with her styling using a window pane (I loved this idea or her other options like a slab of salt or mirror for a different and eye-catching base). She assembled a variety of cheeses with crackers, grapes, raisins, strawberries, pumpkin seeds, apples, and carrots.

Since it was just the four of us, I made a smaller board with Goat Gouda, Manchego, Stilton, Brie, crackers, golden raisins, grapes, strawberry jam, slow cooker cinnamon almonds, and the Champagne and Ginger Chutney.

The chutney is fairly easy to prepare and just involves a bit of stirring on the stove. Keep an eye on the mixture as it cooks and start to stir more often as it begins to thicken. It will go from the perfect texture to burnt very quickly.

Other Dishes

I also made the Shrimp, Ginger, and Scallion Lettuce Wraps; Avocado Coconut Cream Soup; English Coconut Scones; and Rum Laced Bundt Cake.

The light and refreshing flavors in the Shrimp, Ginger, and Scallion Lettuce Wraps came together easily. The shrimp is sautéed in sesame oil and ginger, then combined with rice or cellophane noodles, vegetables, and a sauce wrapped in lettuce leaves. The seasoning was spot-on and didn’t need any adjusting.

The Avocado Coconut Cream Soup was another refreshing dish. It is perfect for warmer weather with the pureed avocado and garlic combined with coconut milk and a seasoned vegetable stock. Claire especially loved this one.

The English Coconut Scones are packed with coconut flavor with the addition of coconut flour, coconut milk, and coconut flakes. They were delicious paired with strawberry jam or salted butter. These were Evan’s favorite.

Instead of one single bundt, I divided the Rum Laced Bundt Cake batter into 4 smaller cakes to try out my new bundt pan. The cakes had the perfect amount of sweetness and was incredibly moist. In addition to the 1 cup of rum added to the cake, a rum glaze is also poured over the baked cakes on both sides for good measure.

Cheese Board with Champagne and Ginger Chutney Recipe

Adapted from Coconut. Ginger. Shrimp. Rum.

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Cheese Board with Champagne and Ginger Chutney

A recipe for a Cheese Board with Champagne and Ginger Chutney from the cookbook, Coconut. Ginger. Shrimp. Rum. by Brigid Washington.

Course Appetizer

Cuisine N/A

Keyword cheese, cheese board, cheese plate

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

0 minutes minutes

Total Time 55 minutes minutes

Servings 1 Cheese Board

Ingredients

Champagne and Ginger Chutney:

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 cup shallots finely minced
• 2 cups champagne
• 1/3 cup fresh ginger peeled and minced
• 1/2 cup firm green grapes
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup golden raisins
• 1 teaspoon salt

Cheese Board:

• Aged Cheese Comte, Gouda, Cheddar, or Gruyere
• Soft Cheese Brie, Camembert, Smoked Ricotta, or Fontina
• Firm Cheese Mimolette, Garrotxa, Manchego, or Parmigiano-Reggiano
• Blue Cheese Stilton, Roquefort, Gorgonzola, or Maytag Blue
• Fresh fruit nuts, seeds, spreads, herbs

Instructions

To make the Champagne and Ginger Chutney:

• In a heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Once it starts to turn golden and develop a slightly nutty aroma, add the shallots. Cook, stirring often, until soft. Pour in the champagne, then add the ginger, grapes, brown sugar, golden raisins, and salt.
• Bring to a boil and stir occasionally (more often towards the end) until the mixture thickens, 30-35 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Transfer to a glass jar with an airtight lid and refrigerate until ready to use.

To assemble:

• Assemble a cheese board with one or two cheeses from each category, 1 pound of cheese for every 4-5 people and other assorted items.