| Product: |
Marks & Spencer Dine in for £10 (Regular Offer) |
| Date: |
14/08/08 (4835 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Delicious nicely presented food
Disadvantages: Lack of veggie / non-alcoholic choice
The Boyfriend sat at the table, twisting his head this way and that in an agitated manner. "No" I said firmly, "We are not watching telly, we're having a nice meal and pretending we're in a restaurant." I left the TV behind him on, but turned the sound down and sat directly in front of him. I never thought I'd say this, but I was bored of Dominos Pizza, sick of the Curry from the 'good' Curry House and just not in the mood for beans on toast. The Marks & Spencer 'Dine In For £10' had come along at just the right time.
Most of the people in my office came down to Marks to do battle last Friday. In fact, I think the world and his wife were there, fighting bitterly over the last remaining packets of pork and prepared veg among the chilled cabinets and overpriced bread. Every so often, they do the following; a main, side dish, and a dessert plus a bottle of wine for £10. This time round, they were even throwing in a free bag for life to carry it all home in. Normally I regard Marks and Spencer with disdain; I don't much like the clothes and I'm capable of cutting up carrots for myself (and buying them in Aldi for less than a third of the price). But when you compare an offer like this against a Friday night takeaway, it's a clear winner.
So, what did I choose? The "Cook! Chicken Breast with Mozzarella & Pesto Melt" for The Boyfriend. Marks describe this as "Tender breasts of chicken topped with a fragrant basil pesto melt, mozzarella & cherry tomatoes, on a bed of spinach". It looked to me like two small chicken breasts in a metal tray, with some green stuff. Not unappetising, but not amazing, individually it was priced at around the £5 mark. Fleetingly, I considered a pre-cooked whole roast chicken, but somehow this seemed dry and boring compared with the Pesto chicken, and I wanted to cook to impress.
I'm vegetarian and despite the lack of veggie friendly food on offer, we were going to need something additional for me. For myself, I picked the "Roasted Sweet Potato Cakes, described as "Roasted sweet potato with onion & chilli, coated in a crispy crumb served with a yoghurt & mint dressing". This came in a small cardboard box and was priced at £2.99. Obviously, I decided to buy this separately and get the better discount on the chicken, but I have to point out that this was the * only* vegetarian option on the deal.
Next, the side dish... the salads looked a little small, the pasta like a dish on its own and I can buy new potatoes anywhere...I put the Mediterranean Style Vegetables, with tomato, basil & balsamic vinegar dressing into the basket. These were pre-prepared vegetables with a cooking time close enough to the chicken for me to put it all in the oven together.
I phoned The Boyfriend as I pushed through the throng towards the end-of-aisle fridge. It was a tough choice, but he chose the Two Belgian Chocolate Soufflés, Made with West Country cream and Belgian chocolate & hand finished with cocoa & a chocolate shard over the Raspberry Panna Cotta. And finally... the wine.
We weren't drinking and I didn't really want wine, but you can't cheat yourself out of a free anything. Looking along the rack, I wisely chose a bottle of Red Froglet - I have it on good advice that this is a very nice wine and I subsequently gave it to someone as a present, so a result really. At this point, Mr D had unexpectedly appeared behind me and was shouting "all wine is good wine, just pick one." There were also white and rose available, but I can't pretend I agonised over it much. After a nice chat and a walk along the river with Mr D, I went back to work to pick over everyone else's choices and complain that the fridge wasn't big enough for all the finds.
Cooking the meal was pretty easy. It was all turn the oven on and shove it in stuff. The chicken baked in its own metal tray, the vegetables and the sweet potato cakes sat side by side on a baking tray and it took me around 35 minutes to prepare, cook and serve. Serving it up, it looked spectacular, the mini cherry tomatoes roasted just right on the chicken and the spiral of sauce over the steaming sweet potato cake. It actually did look like one of their food porn adverts.
I gave The Boyfriend both the Chicken Breasts and ended up eating both the Sweet Potato Cakes. We are not big people at all, but the portion size was skimpy and even after we both ate two people's worth of food, we were comfortable rather than full. The Boyfriend said the chicken was delicious, it had cooked perfectly following the instructions and was juicy with no red meat inside. The Sweet Potato cakes were delicious, with just the right mix of potato and onion. However, I couldn't taste the chilli at all. The accompaniments of pesto and mint and yoghurt sauce respectively were fairly generous helpings and pretty tasty too.
The Mediterranean vegetables were the most delicious I've had. I may even buy these again (more likely I'll make the sauce myself and cut up my own veggies). Overall, I'd give our main course 9 out of 10, with the remaining point lost only on portion sizes. If I did this again, I'd certainly make a vegetable accompaniment or a salad to pack it out a bit and I'd buy the meal for two for each person.
The pudding was less impressive. The Chocolate Soufflés were like any other soft mousse, with a slightly bitter undertaste and a lack of memorable choclatiness. Their general blandness made finishing them a bit of an effort despite the fact that we weren't that full. I cursed the fact that we hadn't got the Panna Cotta, but not too much, as by this point we had abandoned the table and were curled up contentedly on the sofa watching Family Guy. Also, they came in cute little home baking style pots which may come in handy to be used again and again. Or might just sit in the cupboard because I insist I'll use them one day. I suppose if you ate from Marks regularly, you'd end up with hundreds of them, which would be wasteful.
So, here it is. Next time I'd like bigger portions, an alternative to the wine (sparkling Grape Juice or similar) and a more chocolatey chocolate pudding. However, it was good value for about £12.99, the main course was delicious and it pretty much cooked itself while I sat chatting with a cup of tea. The last time M&S ran this offer was around Valentines day and next time they do it, I recommend trying it. Don't be put off by the usual prices, get in there and impress someone with a really nice dinner.
The complete menu for your perusal:
Main for Two
Cook! Chicken Breast with Mozzarella & Pesto Melt
Tender breasts of chicken topped with a fragrant basil pesto melt, mozzarella & cherry tomatoes, on a bed of spinach
Cook! Pork Medallions with Organic Norfolk Cider & Bramley Apple Sauce
Tender pork fillets in a fruity Norfolk cider sauce made with Bramley apples and a dash of double cream
Cook! Beef Meatballs with Tomato & Provolone Cheese
Delicious lean meatballs made with beef from our select farms with sweet vine ripened tomatoes, finished with provolone cheese & fresh parsley
Two Fresh Lochmuir TM Salmon Fillets
Slower grown on a special diet Lochmuir TM salmon is rich in omega3
British Whole Roast Chicken
Succulent British roasted chicken, delicious hot or cold
Two Roasted Sweet Potato Cakes
Roasted sweet potato with onion & chilli, coated in a crispy crumb served with a yoghurt & mint dressing
Side Dish for Two
Mediterranean Style Vegetables
With tomato, basil & balsamic vinegar dressing
Caesar Style Vegetables
With butter & parmigiano reggiano shavings
British Baby New Potatoes
Harvested daily for a truly fresh flavour
House Salad
With cucumber, cherry tomatoes, radish & salad onions
Pasta with Spinach & Pine Nuts
With pesto dressing
Dessert for Two
Two Raspberry Panna Cotta
A rich vanilla cream topped with lightly cooked raspberries
Profiterole Stack
Filled with cream and topped with a rich chocolate sauce
Two Belgian Chocolate Soufflé
Made with West Country cream and Belgian chocolate & hand finished with cocoa & a chocolate shard
Summerfruit Pudding
Strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, cherries, blackcurrants & redcurrants layered with bread & soaked in fruit juices
Classic Fruit Salad
Melon, orange segments, apple segments, grapes & strawberries
Wine
Froglet Chardonnay
Froglet Shiraz
Frizzante Chardonnay Rose
Summary: Waitrose are currently running a very similar offer.....
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