M&S food - what was good and what wasn’t?

[Oppositioblue]

Beef Wellington overall was good. The duxelle was a bit strong but the beef was delicious. Wouldn’t buy again though. Very expensive. It was £70 and only fed 3 of us with just pastry leftover.

We also had the prawn and lobster cocktail to start. The fish was delicious but the cocktail sauce M& used wasn’t nice. We had a bottle of cocktail sauce in the cupboard thankfully so we scrapped off the sauce and added our own which was much better. The tomato balls in the starter weren’t nice. This is a definite no as a repurchase next year.

We also bought a Christmas colin to have over the coming days. He’s good!

I didn't like the stuffing
I much prefer the packet mix from Tesco
Think I spent £6 on it too
Wasn't nice at all
Loved the Oakham turkey and the 12 mini pie selection
Found the chocolate Yule log dry

Hopefully not the Tesco Finest Apple, Cranberry and added Moths Stuffing Mix.

That recall put me off any stuffing this year! Will hopefully forget about it by next year!

@LunaandLily
Agree re the tomahawk thing, really bland. Also was very rare in time given as medium.
There were only three of us so carved off the best bits and will flash fry rest today, but will add some seasoning , more garlic.not great at all for the price .

The crackling Yule log was well received but a pain to serve as had to cut a bit off a single log, like Jenga !

Red cabbage good
Pudding really really good, big whole nuts inside .

Japanese inspired salmon platter very nice

We got the slow cooked turkey joint with stuffing and bacon, it said on it cook for 55 mins and rest for 5mins so I put the rest of the dinner on at the same time. Turkey needed at least an extra hour before it was ready. We just ate the rest and didn't end up eating any of the turkey. Won't be getting that again!

We had the crown in brine which was stuffed with bacon. I thought it salty and the meat small, it cooked quickly but I wouldn't get it again.

Everything else was lovely

It said to cook for 1hr 55 on our box. 55 mins would have been quite obviously too short a time for the size of it.

Found the party food quite disappointing this year although the bacon and cheese tarts were nice.

We got the Oakham Turkey with bacon and stuffing which was nice. Goose fat roasties also good. Stuffing balls a disappointment, very wet feeling and bland. Pigs in blankets also very bland tasting.

Had the Cauliflower cheese tonight - bland, too much sauce and not enough cauliflower.

Also had the Sherry Trifle (off the shelf) and it was ok, nothing special.

Still to open the Triple Yule Log which goes out of date tomorrow!

I had the party food mini burger things tonight as part of a snack tea.

Wouldn't get them again. Said cook for 15 mins but they were still raw looking. An extra 10 mins meant they were cooked but still looked anemic and unappetising. The cheese sauce from a packet was bland and the mini buns were fairly tasteless too.

Although my friend had some feta squishy things and she said they were delicious- all gone by the time I got round to that platter!

Brine - gosh, just buy a normal bird oven ready but put a wee bit of oil, salt and pepper on the top and a lemon halved inside

So normally a bird rests while the roast spuds go in to cook. Although I’m working on real potatoes from scratch not auntie Bessie’s or pre prepped stuff. Weigh any roast meat and follow Delia Smith’s timings plus allow a bit longer regardless of what packaging says.

Yes, this is what I usually do, let the turkey rest while I cook the spuds and veg, but because this said rest for 5 mins, I put them on to be ready about 15 mins after the turkey should have been done 🤦🏼‍♀️ it was only a small joint for 4-6 people. I even took a photo of the instructions before I binned the packet! I was carving it and thought oh it’s a bit pink looking so put the thermometer in and it only got to 53.

We had the side of honey roast salmon, which was amazing. The sausage rolls were awful.

I'm probably going to have to host 15 next year, so this thread is really helpful for advising on what the hits this year were.

So tempted by that seafood platter, but at £100 I'll most likely dash in to the nearest big one at 4pm on Christmas Eve, to see if any have been severely slashed in price!

Only thing I got from M&S was a tub of bread sauce. Nothing special but freezable and much easier than making it from scratch. And the other things I got ready-made were a Panettone from Waitrose (v. good) and a tray of Asda 'Extra Special' roast potatoes which were spectacular. No turkey, but a Poulet Noir chicken and fresh sprouts.

Cauliflower cheese was amazing
Red cabbage far too sweet
Vegetarian roast potatoes took twice the amount of time stated (though this could be my oven's fault tbh)

Oh and the pot of vegan gravy was good.

Hits this year:
Oakham turkey crown
Turkey gravy (chilled tub)
Jar cranberry sauce
Honey mustard parsnips
Pork and cranberry stuffing
Chocolate pine cones
Wensleydale with cranberries
Chocolate squirty cream
Merry Berry jam
Mini chocolate chip biscuits from the blue light up house tin, I could have eaten them all in one go
Frozen chocolate coffee dessert thing
Christmas sourdough bread from the bakery, there was a loaf and a baguette version, both were lovely but none there on Christmas Eve :(
Snowmen bao buns
Collection sausage roll selection
Mozzarella and tomato stuffed mini pastry things
Coconut prawns but need a dipping sauce
DP practically inhaled the Very Merry Munch

I agree with all of yours! And take a list of those I don't have thank you

We had the “luxury” seafood platter. It was a hit and really enjoyed! It served 6 and I would say that was right. There were 4 of us eating it, and we had leftovers which we had the following day.

We only had:

• a stuffing slab - very salty and not that nice, plus seemed £££
• frozen prawn toast and spring rolls - very nice and worth the money

I tell you what is great from M&S: profiterole stack. By far the best supermarket profiteroles I’ve had and better than some restaurants too.

Turkey crown, sausage roll wreath and Yule logs were delicious.

Also enjoyed the gingerbread men to hang on your mug.

The free-range stuffed turkey crown was excellent - think it was labelled to feed five and cost £48 - we were three and there was some leftover, so a good size.

I've bought that for the past few years and it's always turned out well.