Channeling Cobras & Matadors’ sauteed green lentils I made a crispy black lentil and sungold tomato salad with goat cheese mousse. I fried the black lentils in about a half inch of olive oil and threw in sliced serrano ham and scallion at the end. I drained it on a paper towel, salted it and tossed with sungold tomato halves just with a light drizzle of red wine vinegar. The creamy tangy goat cheese mousse was a perfect match to the salad which had a lot going on but oh so harmonious. I served toasted baguette slices to that the items could be scooped up together and devoured.
imma.eat.chu 
everything looks delicious but the lentils have my drooling
I cook like this frequently. I can cook from scratch but I’m a huge fan of seeking out quality pre-made items from stores like Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods to pair with really great produce, grains and meats and putting wonderful tasting, beautiful food on the table for my family or at parties that much faster and with just a little cheating. It’s great to see someone with such obvious culinary skills showing off the benefits of this method.
i agree with sloe…the lentil salad with the goat cheese mousse is making me salivate. it looks so refreshing right now!
Wow, what creative ideas with some prepared ingredients. I tend to cook from scratch, and honestly would have passed most of those things by (okay, maybe not the soup – great lunch idea). But you made them all look so scrumptious!
Yum! I love Trader Joe’s and you made all their products look fantastic and mouth-watering!
TJ’s does great things. You never know what gems you’ll find!
Your salad looks amazing! I wanna try the goat cheese mousse and crispy lentils; what an awesome variation. I just discovered Trader Joe’s and have yet to shake that epiphany feeling. I, too, went to purchase puff pastry. When is it not puff pastry season?!
I bought Trader Joe’s Lobster Ravioli and posted a recipe of my concoction at Food Buzz. Please leave me any tips or ideas!
http://www.foodbuzz.com/recipes/1382515-lobster-ravioli-with-butter-and-confetti
Question is… why doesn’t trader joe’s just hire you to do this at their store? what a bunch of suckas!
hi justin,
the lentil dish is definitely a keeper. try it out next time you hit up trader joe’s. would be great to wash down with a cold pilsner.
hi mandy,
this was the easiest meal i’ve cooked in a really long time and everything came out delicious. it’s nice to get a lil help with the prep.
hi hannah,
perhaps the lentils will make it onto your to cook list?
hi tastyeats,
yes i am all for cooking from scratch too. it’s either from scratch or i eat out – not a lot of middle ground. the only precooked item i usually pick up is the occasional chicken stock and variety of beans. this meal was easy but now i want to make all these dishes from scratch! haha.
hi gina,
i love trader joe’s too!
hi duodishes,
i always keep a few ready to eat tj favorites in my pantry. their packaged food is usually pretty good.
hi badjmt23,
seriously i don’t know why tj gets rid of some of their stuff. they don’t even carry white vinegar anymore!
hi ramy,
haha can my career be being the sample lady at trader joe’s?
Very creative!
LL
i adore everything on this post. this is my kinda cooking, only mine doesn’t look so pretty.
Wow, everything looks amazing! Great 24 idea!
Looks great, especially the layered salad and the goat cheese mousse sounds great. I’d love to learn how to make the mousse, if you’re willing to divulge.
Nothing wrong with that, some times we are in a hurry and TJ’s is the bomb for that sort of thing. . . Chef L
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