We competed at the Big Cheesy this weekend. We didn’t win, but we did meet our biggest tumblr fan, Kristen (L), who met the lady behind the tumbling, Beth (R)!

Also Alex was there looking awesome in his Straight Outta Comte shirt (photo from Openhouse).

It was an exciting time for all.

twotic:

Go to Murray’s Cheese Bar in Greenwich Village in NYC.  Order the Cheesemonger’s Choice Plate.  Tell the waitress what type of cheeses you either like or don’t like (semi-soft, hard, stinky, etc).  Ask for an accompanying glass of wine.  You won’t be sorry :)

correct

introvertedgastronome:

Ever since I started my weight loss journey in late 2011, I’ve made a subconscious list of foods I should avoid most of the time. Cheese (AKA my most beloved food group) tragically had to go on the short list. Bouts of cheese tasting, cheese cave tours, and Liz Lemon night cheesing had to take a back seat to my health. I’m not super strict with my diet, though, and I’m totally okay with indulging once in a while. With their ass-smacking new brunch menu, Murray’s Cheese Bar (264 Bleecker St) gave me the perfect opportunity to do so.

I managed to win a spot in the restaurant’s preview brunch (being glued to Twitter has its perks), so I decided that my coworker Nalini would be the perfect person to join me in my carb-heavy pig-out. We knew that we had to go balls-to-the-wall with this brunch, since Nalini has only been to a proper brunch once in her short life.  Their menu taunted me – how could I possibly fit a brunch burger, breakfast melt with melted fontina, and a chocolate-fondue-topped French toast stuffed with cream cheese in my 5’6” frame?! Answer: it’s impossible. Ultimately, we both decided on ordering some of the more sinful items they’re offering – the Elvis French toast for her, the duck hash with a poached egg on top for me, and the cheesy grits to split.

We both literally almost sobbed at how good the food at Murray’s was. The melted cheese on top was still bubbling when the grits were delivered to our table, but the burn felt so good going down my throat. The side is essentially 75% cheese and 25% grits, which makes this a super-rich side option for a party of one. While Nalini was being serenaded by her personal Elvis (topped with sliced bananas; loaded with a generous heap of peanut butter, a dab of marshmallow fluff, and super-thick strips of Nueske’s bacon; served with a side of sugary sweet maple syrup), I was trying to put a ring on my duck hash. Every single mouthful was full of juicy smoked duck, crispy roasted potatoes, egg yolk drippings, and hints of onion. Nothing tastes more perfect than a forkful of tender loving duck. The hash tasted even better on a nice slab of toast. The other piece of toast was reserved for a slab of homemade jam and subtly-salted butter.

Fortunately the world doesn’t have to wait much longer for Murray’s Cheese Bar’s outstanding brunch; it begins tomorrow (February 23^rd). I’ve already convinced a handful of cheesy people in my life to “brie” my brunch dates in the near future. 

ASS-SMACKING.

BRUNCH BRUNCH BRUNCH.

Starts this weekend at Murray’s Cheese Bar.

drunkbrunch:

.@murrayscheezbar invited me to preview their brunch, which begins this Saturday. Don’t miss the deliciousness! (at Murray’s Cheese Bar)

Brunch starts Saturday! Eeeee! It is the goodness.

THIS.

nosleep:

Late night grilled cheese and tomato soup from Murray’s Cheese Bar. Highly recommended.

Seconded.

Mac and Cheese Tasting at Murray’s Cheese Bar. NINE KINDS OF MAC AND CHEESE EACH MORE CREAMY AND DELICIOUS THAN THE LAST HOW WILL WE EVER CHOOSE?

cheesenotes:

Monday night found me at Murray’s Cheese for a tasting/reading event with Kirstin Jackson, author of “It’s Not You, It’s Brie: Unwrapping America’s Unique Culture of Cheese”. Kirstin’s book — and blog of the same name — offers a unique perspective on the domestic cheese scene, exploring the vats, caves, fields and milking parlors of artisan and farmstead cheesemakers across the nation, introducing readers to unique and often quirky characters behind the rinds. Jackson takes an unusual approach, breaking the book into chapters along what could perhaps be described as personality lines rather than strictly technical definitions; rather than “Mold-Ripened”, “Washed Rind”,”Thermophilic” or “Chevres”, we have chapter titles like “Prepubescent Cheese”, “The Strong and the Hard”, “American Originals” or “Washed and Smeared Rinds: What the Hell is Going on in the Kitchen” — a bit irreverent perhaps, but capturing the spirit of the book perfectly, which combines in depth tastings, informative interviews and engaging history with cheeky humor and and sometimes bawdy asides. The book is both an excellent primer for cheese newbies and, for the more experienced turophile, a rich source of background stories and anecdotes about your favorite cheeses.

The class was Kirstin’s chance to share her “dream American cheese plate”, a selection of cheeses from top cheesemakers across the country, paired with unique wines and beers from both West and East coast. Some beers, like Brooklyn Brewery, are hard to find on the West Coast, so Kirstin took this class as an opportunity to explore pairings that might be hard for her to make normally, even as she was introducing the students to new flavor profiles and combinations.  

The cheeses, with their pairings, were as follows: 

1. Hoja Santa, The Mozzarella Co., TX, paired with Scholium SC Vipolze, Red Hook Winery, Brooklyn. 
Made by Texas cheesemaker Paula Lambert, Hoja Santa has garnered accolades and attention since it came out (it was also featured in my Mexican cheese class with Carlos Yescas and my Master Class with Max McCalman). Wrapped in the leaf of the Hoja Santa herb, this fresh lactic goat’s milk cheese is bright, sweet and citric with flavors of mint, oregano, grass and most distinctly, sarsaparilla, aka root beer flavor, which comes from the Safrole oil that is in both the sarsaparilla root and in the Hoja Santa leaf.

Complimented nicely by the “orange”, Slovenian-style skin-fermented wine, the unusual style that has in the last decade made waves in the wine world. the herbal and honey notes of the wine worked well with the citrus and safrole notes of the cheese. (Note: Red Hook Winery was severely impacted by Hurricane Sandy, losing much of their stock, so this might be a tough one to find)

2. Green Hill, Sweet Grass Dairy, GA, paired with Broadside Chardonnay
Made by the Wehner family in Georgia on a farm that is one of the pioneers of rotational grazing in America, the rich, high-fat milk of the spoiled Jersey cows make the perfect foundation for this gloriously decadent double-creme bloomy rind (you’d probably guess it was a triple-creme if you didn’t know better). In color, texture and flavor it resembles fresh cultured butter, with a velvety, spreadable texture and earthy notes of mushroom and hay. 

The “wild-fermented” Chardonnay from California brings out the silky mouthfeel of the cheese and compliments the meatiness of the paste.

3. San Andreas, Bellwether Farms, CA, paired with Edmund St. John’s Bebame
San Andreas is a raw sheep’s milk Pecorino-style cheese, made with the milk of East Friesian Sheep on the Bellwether farm, along the Pacific Coast in Sonoma County, California. Made in the style of a Tuscan Pecorino, with a smooth golden rind, the paste is ivory-hued and scattered with eyes, smooth and creamy in texture. The flavor is mild, sweet and tangy, with the trademark sheep’s milk gamey, lanolin characteristics, nutty and grassy notes, and a pleasantly sour finish.

Made in the Sierra foothills of California, the Bebame is a Cabernet Franc/Gamay blend, herbal and fruity without being too tannic or jammy. It stands up nicely to the gamey flavors of the San Andreas and brings out the nuttiness.  

4. Grayson, Meadow Creek Dairy, VA, paired with Captain Lawrence Golden Delicious Tripel
Made by the Feete family in Virginia (cue “smells like Feete” jokes), Grayson is a Taleggio-style washed rind made with Jersey cow’s milk, and Meadow Creek is one of the makers that put the American South on the cheese map. A seasonal cheese, only made from April-October, this cheese is best enjoyed when extremely ripe and the pungency has achieved it’s peak levels. The ivory-gold paste, enclosed within a reddish-amber rind, is velvety and oozing, with a robust but not overwhelming aroma, and a rich, buttery, meaty flavor with notes of smoked bacon, hay, mushrooms and broth. 

This pairing worked really well: the fruity flavors of the Tripel, combined with the meaty cheese, immediately brought to mind the apple in the mouth of a roast pig. 

5. Gravity Hill, Roelli Cheese Haus, WI, paired with Stillwater Autumnal Ale
Made by acclaimed Wisconsin cheesemakers Roelli (I previously wrote about their Red Rock and Dunbarton Blue), this cheese gets its name from the legend of Gravity Hill in Shullsburg, WI, where cars are said to roll uphill while in neutral, defying the laws of gravity. The cheese itself is firmly grounded and earthy; based on an English Cheshire and made with sea salt, the paste is dry and crumbly, the flavor is rich, meaty and nutty, with herbaceous and tropical notes and a distinctly cheddary sharpness.

The Stillwater brought out the fruitiness of the cheese and balanced the sharpness nicely. 

6. Rogue River Blue, Rogue Creamery, OR, paired with Brooklyn Brewery Black Chocolate Stout. 
Every year brings news of more ribbons won by Rogue Creamery for this Syrah-leaf wrapped blue cheese, and they’re well earned. Deep, complex and earthy in flavor with notes of coffee, barnyard, caramel and sherry, beautifully balanced between sweet and briny with scatterings of tyrosine crystals and a spicy, peppery bite. The interior is sweeter and creamier, while the paste closer to the rind offers a woodsy, herbaceous, more aromatic experience.  

Chocolate and Blue cheese: how can you go wrong? The Black Chocolate Stout worked with the Rogue River perfectly. 

The cheese didn’t end with the class though: afterwards several of us continued to Murray’s Cheese Bar, where the cheesemongers brought us a couple slates of their best cheeses, including (to the best of my recollections, I’m missing a few): Barilotto Bufala, Murray’s Cavemaster Reserve Little Big Apple, Murray’s Cavemaster Reserve Hudson Flower, Tomme Vaudoise, Holzhorne Geiss, aka “Wooden Goat” from Willi Schmid, Vendeen Bichonne, Beaufort d’Ete AOC, Rush Creek Reserve, Hafod Cheddar, Jasper Hill Bayley Hazen Blue, Rogue River Blue. Oh, and did I mention the deep-fried Buffalo Wisconsin Cheese Curds? ;)

If you want to learn more, check out Kirstin’s book!

AWESOME.

Cheese Bar is open tonight. Thanks, everyone.