Goat Cheese Medallions

Clearly, I have many positive things to say about Trader Joe's. The newest addition to Products I Love At Trader Joe's are these goat cheese medallions (seen above).

Why They're Great

1. They're perfectly packaged, so you only need to open one for a whole salad.
2. Since you open each package as you need it, you never have to deal with stale, yellowy goat cheese (ie. IT'S ALWAYS FRESH).
3. The real problem with buying cheese and storing it at home is that you need to eat it rather quickly, since it goes bad so quickly. BUT NO LONGER! You can now eat your cheese at a leisurely pace and bask in a life well lived.

Are all of those points kind of the same? Possibly. But it still get my point across. These medallions are magic. 

(And calling them "medallions" instead of "logs" or "cheese chunks" or something was a stroke of genius. Who doesn't want medallions in his/her fridge?)

Arugula, Pear and Goat Cheese Salad with Pomegranate Vinaigrette

I made this salad for Thanksgiving and IT IS INCREDIBLE. The next time you need to make a salad for a group of people, I aggressively encourage you to use this recipe. Other than the obnoxious pomegranate-cutting, it's ridiculously easy to make. 

For The Vinaigrette

• 1 large shallot, halved and thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepepr
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

For The Salad

• 4 cups arugula
• 2 ripe pears, cored and cut into 1/2" cubes
• 1/3 cup pomegranate seeds
• 3 ounces fresh goat cheese, crumbled
• 1/4 cup pistachios, toasted and coarsely chopped

Instructions

In a small bowl combine the shallot, vinegar, salt and pepper and whisk until the salt is dissolved. Whisk in the olive oil and let vinaigrette stand at room temperature until salad is assembled. Combine the arugula, romaine, pears and half of the pomegranate seeds in a large bowl. Crumble half of the goat cheese over the ingredients in the bowl (this works best if the cheese is very cold). Whisk the vinaigrette until uniform and add all but 2 tablespoons of it to the bowl. Gently toss the salad with your hands or salad tongs, coating the ingredients well with the vinaigrette. If the salad seems dry, add the vinaigrette in small increments until it is dressed to your liking. Crumble the remaining cheese over the salad and sprinkle the remaining pomegranate seeds and the pistachios over the top. Serve immediately.

Recipe slightly adapted from Food 52.