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November 22, 2011September 26, 2012

STAFF PICKS: What’s On Our Thanksgiving Cheese Plates

Nobody knows cheese like the mongers at Murray’s. That’s why we asked 10 cheesemongers what they’re bringing to Thanksgiving Dinner this week. Here are their recommendations, straight from the red jackets themselves!

Cielo – Keely’s Across the Pond*. God Bless America!

James – Jasper Hill Harbison has been tasting amazing, with a really delicate mustard flavor.

Eric – River’s Edge Up In Smoke, for post-Thanksgiving breakfast with turkey and stuffing!

Sydney – St. Maure*. They are super gooey right now, and the creamy texture means the flavor is even stronger.

Brian, Caves Manager at Murray’s Cheese – (Let it be noted that he had a very hard time deciding.) Consider Bardwell Pawlett*, because it’s savory with flavors of sauteed garlic and onion, and a slight tangy-ness. It’s a beautiful table cheese, on point right now, and a total crowd-pleaser.

Joshua – Colston Bassett Stilton, because it is just delicious.

Sarah – Tomme Chevre Aydius*. It’s light enough that it is a perfect appetizer, especially with crostini.

Kevin – Etivaz, it is a super-delicious flavor explosion!

Brian – Quadrello di Bufala is sweet and meaty like many Thanksgiving dishes. Most people don’t serve Italian cheese at Thanksgiving, so it’s nice to bring something unique and unexpected to the table.

Adam – Spring Brook Tarentaise, my baby. It’s a lovely, hearty cheese and is always great this time of year.

*These cheeses are available in our NYC retail stores but are not currently available for online purchase.

February 4, 2011September 26, 2012

Consider the Sheep: La Serena

Cheeses at their best: What we’re especially loving right now

by Grace Mitchell

Should you find yourself in search of an oozing, sheepy, expand-across-your-plate wedge of cheese, do take pause! You needn’t look any further, for La Serena, a raw sheep’s milk cheese from Spain, quite nicely fits the bill. Deep in the hinterlands of the southwestern province of Extremadura, a man and his son craft from the milk of their 2,000 Merino sheep these unusual wheels of cheese. As are many traditional Iberian cheeses, La Serena is coagulated by enzymes found in the thistle plant, which lends a tangy, floral character to the goat and sheep milk cheeses made in this manner (most cheesemaking involves coagulation by enzymes derived from the stomach lining of unweaned cows, sheep, or goats).

This floral morsel doesn’t get any better than it tastes right now. The confluence of Spain’s humidity this time of year and the fatty winter sheep milk yields wheels of La Serena that are at once perfectly voluptuous, delicate, tangy, and vegetal. These days, the contents of these three-pound lace-bound wheels cavalierly slides like creamy lava within the rind, begging you to—please!—do as the Spanish do: gently slice off the top of the wheel, and dive in with pieces crusty bread and chunks of chorizo in fondue-like fashion.

We can’t resist sharing our excitement over this sheepy goodness! To round out your cheese plate with wedges of wheels that we’re also finding especially superlative in this moment, we recommend you to have a taste of the spicy, cakey, goaty Spanish Monte Enebro, and the milky, creamy, subtle Bavarian Blue.