Ge ready to enjoy the perfect night-in this Valentine’s Day! What’s better than curling up on the couch and watching the everlasting love of Edward and Bella, accompanied by this Twilight themed cheese board? The only thing we can think of is watching a different romantic movie alongside a themed snack platter!

You can take your pick from your favorite films paired with delicious cheese boards, creative charcuterie platters, and movie-themed snack recipes in this punny and tasty cookbook, Once Upon a Rind in Hollywood! This unique cookbook offers 50 different snack board ideas, from timeless cheese boards and charcuterie to candy platters and cocktail pairings, all themed around iconic movies. Once Upon a Rind in Hollywood outlines everything you need to create cheesy cinematic pairings (and even cheesier puns) like “Brie-king Dawn” (Twilight). Check out the recipe below!

* * * * *

Twilight themed cheese board

You don’t have to be named Bella to enjoy this Italian-inspired board. Fans of both the books and movies will enjoy the apple and flower imagery we know and love so well from the series. This selection of apples, dark chocolate, crostini, and biscotti paired with gorgonzola and salami is sure to bring the whole pack together and make your friends exclaim, “You brought a snack!”

Serves 4

Ingredients for The Board:
1 Rome or Macintosh apple
1 Fuji, Honeycrisp, or Pink Lady apple
6 ounces gorgonzola cheese
Mixed Berry Baked Brie Bites (recipe below)
Charcuterie Rosettes (recipe below)
¼ cup honey
8 Mulino Bianco Cioccograno cookies or other
Italian cookies of your choice
2 cups mini biscotti, preferably with dried red
fruit and nuts
1 handful of assorted breadsticks or crackers
3 ounces dark or semisweet chocolate bar, coarsely broken into medium to large pieces
½ cup Marcona almonds
3 tablespoons pomegranate arils
Homemade Crostini (recipe below)
pomegranate juice or a nice barolo, to serve

Directions for The Board:
1. Place the Rome or Macintosh apple in the center of the board. If the apple rolls or tilts to one side, slice off the bottom to create a stable base.

2. Halve the Fuji, Honeycrisp, or Pink Lady apple, remove the core, and cut each half into ¼-inch-thick slices. Carefully transport each half of the apple, making sure the slices maintain their original shape, and place them on opposite sides of the board. Place the gorgonzola in another open section of the board. Group the Mixed Berry Baked Brie Bites in opposite open sections of the board and do the same for the Charcuterie Rosettes, and add a jar or bowl of honey. Fill in the remaining open sections with cookies, biscotti, breadsticks or crackers, and chocolate bar sections. Add almonds to any last open areas, and lightly scatter pomegranate arils over the board. Arrange the crostini on a separate platter.

3. Serve with snack plates, a utensil assortment for the cheese and meat, and your beverage of choice.

Ingredients for Mixed Berry Baked Brie Bites:
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed according to package directions
8 ounces brie
¼ cup mixed berry jam
¼ cup chopped pecans (optional)
flaky sea salt, to taste

Directions for Mixed Berry Baked Brie Bites:
1. To make these mini baked brie bites with mixed berry jam, which are a nod to the berry cobbler Charlie Swan eats every week, preheat the oven to the temperature suggested on the package of puff pastry. Lightly spray a mini 24-cup muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray, and set aside.

2. Gently unroll the thawed puff pastry onto a lightly floured surface. Using a rolling pin, roll into an even shape, then cut the sheet lengthwise into 4 even strips and crosswise into 6 even strips. Each of the 24 squares will be about 2½ inches on each side. Gently separate the squares and press them into the mini muffin pan to create puff pastry cups, leaving the corners pointing upward. With the tines of a fork, prick the bottom of each puff pastry in 2 or 3 places.

3. Leaving the rind on, cut the brie into 1-inch cubes. Place 1 cube in each puff pastry cup, then add a small dollop, or ¼ teaspoon jam, over the brie, and top with a sprinkling of chopped pecans, if using.

4. Bake until the puff pastry is golden brown and crispy, about 12 minutes.

5. Let cool for 5 minutes before adding a sprinkling of flaky sea salt. Carefully remove the mini bites from the muffin pan while still warm to prevent sticking. Makes 24 brie bites.

Ingredients for Charcuterie Rosettes:
4 ounces salami of your liking, very thinly sliced

Directions for Charcuterie Rosettes:
1. Fold a slice of salami over the opening of a glass with a small mouth, like a champagne flute or a shot glass, making sure that half of the slice hugs the inside of the glass and half the outside.

2. Take the next slice, fold it, and place it halfway over the previous layer, again being careful that half of the slice is inside the glass and half outside. Press and mold the layers together with your fingers to keep the shape. The more layers you add, the fuller your rose will be.

3. Flip over the glass and remove the rosette so that the layered parts sitting inside the glass now face up. Gently mold the layered slices into a round shape if needed, and your rosette is complete. Repeat the process to make the second rosette.

Ingredients for Homemade Crostini:
½ baguette or demi baguette, sliced about ⅜ inch thick
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon garlic powder (optional)
fine sea salt, to taste

Directions for Homemade Crostini:
1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. Brush both sides of the baguette slices with olive oil and place on the baking sheet. Sprinkle the slices evenly with garlic powder, if using.

2. Bake until golden brown, about 7 minutes. Sprinkle with fine sea salt while warm.


Whether you’re a die-hard cinephile or a Netflix-binger, this book has a movie for you! Find more movie-themed recipes in Once Upon a Rind in Hollywood.