With the upcoming holidays, the cheese plate is something you'll be seeing a lot of. Thankfully, Laura Werlin, the James Beard Award-winning author of five books on cheese, has some tips to make your curd selections stand out from the crowd.

Whether she's expecting six or 60 guests, she'll offer the same number of cheese types—five to seven. "If you have too many types, it's a feast for the eyes, but less so for the stomach because it's confusing," says Ms. Werlin. "Your guests are not going to remember one of them."

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Photo by Andrew Fogg