Snackmas Day 16- M&S Party Food

As I mentioned last Snackmas, MSW is a sucker for Party Food. She buys it all despite never having an actual party.. We do always have it for tea on the 24th though and all the way through to New Year just to keep the spirit alive - You might say we have several of our own mini celebrations with the help of tiny finger foods!

M&S caught my eye when it came to this years offerings with plenty of NEW bits to feast upon - Handmade Prawn Parcel Selection, Mini Porcini & Chestnut Mushroom Mac & Cheese, Duck Croquettes and Mini Mozzarella Bites, all priced at £3.50 each minus the latter which I think was £2.  Conveniently, this little lot can be cooked from fresh at the same temperature of 180ºC Fan for 10 minutes.. Even the Mozzarella Bites which came with a recommended time of 7 minutes, turned out perfectly - I always give cheesy things a smidgen longer to avoid any soggy outsides! 

Handmade Prawn Parcel Selection

4 wheat pancake parcels with a prawn sweet and sour filling, 4 pastry stars with prawn and red chilli, 4 pastry parcels with prawns, mushrooms and hoisin sauce filling. 

Golden and crisp, all 3 of the prawn parcels looked most attractive when straight out of the oven and certainly something you would be proud to display on your party table. Smelling as one would expect in being mildy fishy, the Sweet & Sour Pancake Parcels were the first I tried and didn't disappoint in terms of flavour - The outside was pleasantly on the greasy side with a packed filling of prawn chunks and complimenting vegetables which reminded me a bit of a Spring Roll. Moving onto the Pastry Stars which I felt quite brave in even trying given the use of red chilli. Thankfully, it was just about bearable but still delivered enough heat for those who appreciate such a thing, for that spicy kick and went well with the soft prawn layer between 2 crisp sheets of pastry. Thirdly, the Pastry Parcels or as I feel compelled to call them, the crunchy blobs! Thicker on the pastry front but not overly dry, these were just as yummy as the previous 2 with the addition of hoisin sauce for that added bit of sweetness and mushrooms for a "meatier" flavour. I didn't find any of the trio to be overly fishy so can't see them offending many.. Apart from the Shellfish allergy sufferers.. Obviously, you're excused. A 4 out of 5 from me. 

Mini Porcini & Chestnut Mushroom Mac & Cheese

10 mini foils containing conchigliette pasta, chestnut and porcini mushrooms in a rich cheese and marsala wine sauce. Complete with spoons. 

How cute are the individual pots with a handy, baby spoon!? The cheese may have exploded everywhere but I don't think they could look more adorable! Taking a mouthful, quite a potent flavour was delivered of rich, creamy cheese with squidgy pasta pieces throughout and a real kick of mushroom - Strong to the point of definitely being one for the fanatics of the aforementioned. I couldn't taste any marsala wine whatsoever but that didn't take away the enjoyment and I would quite happily eat 6 - 3 spoonfuls in each, just isn't enough! It's 4.5 out of 5 from me. 

Duck Croquettes

Tender and tasty roast duck croquettes coated in a crunchy crumb and served with a honey and truffle dip. 

These, cylindrical shaped croquettes cooked a treat to be exactly as promised - Soft on the inside with a satisfyingly crisp coating. Full of meaty flavour and undeniably that of duck, they were quite rich alone but mellowed by the delicious sweet, honey tones of the dip. Some sort of spice was also noticeable, not that I could say what exactly and for me, the truffle was completely MIA.. What is truffle suppose to taste like anyway? I probably wouldn't know it if it hit me in the face! It's a 4 out of 5. 

Mini Mozzarella Bites

Italian mozzarella in a thyme and parsley breadcrumb with a garlic and herb dips. 

Lastly and the type of Party Food that I am particularly fond of.. The Mozzarella Bites! Smelling ridiculously herby, the balls were ooey gooey inside with another crunchy outside to contrast to all the soft. Unfortunately, the thyme aspect of these was very overpowering and I felt, took away from any decent cheese flavour. Bizarrely however, when eaten with the rather slimy green looking dip, despite adding further herb into the equation, I found the bites to mellow and generally be far more palatable. An odd one - A 3 out of 5. 

Overall, there is not much to complain about when it comes to this range of Party Food from M&S. The quality is most definitely there and I feel, brings something a bit different oppose to the usual selection on offer - Mini Pizza's and Quiches are great and all but just sometimes, only a fancier snack will cut it.. Maybe do avoid the Mozzarella Bites though unless you've got an extended family member who's favourite food is thyme and nothing but! 

Three Bird Roast Sausage Rolls

All butter puff pastry, filled with lightly seasoned British pork, turkey, chicken & duck with smoked bacon. 

But what if you prefer a cold Party Food option? I hear ya and present to thee, the Three Bird Roast Sausage Rolls! Priced at the ludicrously expensive £5 for 12, I purchased the 420g pack when it had been reduced with every intention of whacking them in the freezer to bring out over the holidays.. This never happened and we ended up eating them there and then, as is.. Although they are fine to be heated at 180ºC Fan for 10-15 minutes, if one so wishes. 

Cutting the Roll in half, a good amount of filling presented itself with the layers of pastry, to produce that flaky feel, clear to see. Taste wise, bacon was at the forefront with an array of not quite bird distinguishable yet deliciously meaty flavours throughout - I especially didn't get duck at all despite it being such a rich taste. A good amount of seasoning was included along with a salty edge making them really quite moreish.. Not to mention, the oodles of buttery, almost cheese tones from the pastry! Yummy - A 4 out of 5 from me!

..I think I might have eaten too much.

Review- Krispy Kreme NEW: Smores, Maple Crunch, Chocolate Firecracker and Salted Caramel Cheesecake ft. Glazed Kreme

Today was abysmal. It was the start of the working week and it was wet - Possibly the two worst things if like me, rainy days and Mondays always get you down. One little perk however was the fact that NEW Krispy Kreme were in town - Huzzah! Naturally, I got one of each flavour from my local Tesco Cabinet and couldn't wait to get stuck in.

KK seem to have upped their game and veered away from the mundane, plain options with 3 fairly out there flavours: Smores, Chocolate Firecracker and Maple Crunch, along with a NEW and improved, Salted Caramel Cheesecake. Priced at £1.90 a pop (Tesco currently have 2, assorted 3 boxes for £8) and knowing for a fact that the Smores is Veggie friendly*, there really is something to tickle everyone with this quartet. 

Smores

Hand pumped with mallow filling, dipped in milk chocolate coating, decorated with mini marshmallow, shortcake crumble and white chocolate drizzle.

Starting with the doughnut that I and I expect a lot of people will be most excited about.. The Smores! Crackling and tumbling on first cut, it both smelt and looked absolutely amazing with a pure white centre. Taste wise, the silky smooth yet sticky aforementioned seriously delivered in terms of pure marshmallow that was uncanny to mini marshmallows rather than jarred "Fluff" - You really couldn't mistake it for anything other! The dough itself was up to the usual KK standard in being plump and fluffy with the signature sweet flavour with a toping of decent enough milk chocolate adding some cocoa tones and a bit of crunch from the sprinkled extras. It's a 4 out of 5 from me. 

Maple Crunch

Our signature ring doughnut hand dipped in maple icing and sprinkled with maple flavour crunch and a sparkle of gold dust. 

Moving onto the Maple which genuinely almost made me heave - The aroma was of celery. Potent celery! Hesitating greatly, I sheepishly took a bite.. And shock horror, I was mowed down by the yucky and artificial taste that I am still presuming to be a salad vegetable rather than the glorious, pancake topping, Canadian tree sap. Sadly, I didn't actually get to the actual doughnut part but it seemed to be like a doughnut - A big fat 0 out of 5.. It would have been a 0.1 if there had been some gold dust! 

Chocolate Firecracker

Filled with chocolate truffle Kreme, dipped in chilli infused chocolate icing and topped with gold stars.

I don't know about you but when I first heard Firecracker, I thought "Ooh.. It's going to be popping candy in a doughnut!". Boy, was I wrong - It's chilli! Who puts chilli in a doughnut?! Crazy KK clearly! Once again, slicing in half wasn't a problem with zero toughness but plenty of softness and slightly more bizarrely, a floral scent. Inside was an abundance of somewhat curdled kreme which despite not looking all that appealing did taste nice and chocolatey. The heat of chilli from the icing was unmissable with a tongue tingling sensation which was not to my liking whatsoever but I did appreciate the ever so slight, raspberry flavour from the red icing to cut through.. Whether this was meant to be the case or not, I am unsure as the description mentions nothing of the sort! It's a 3 out of 5 from me!

Salted Caramel Cheesecake

Hand dipped in cheesecake icing, filled with salted caramel and vanilla cheesecake, topped with crunchy biscuit and salted caramel pieces finished with a salted caramel drizzle. 

Last up.. The Salted Caramel number which I was interested to see how would fair as the Lemon version earlier in the year, had improved. My little bubble was burst upon discovering some KK monkey had failed to put any vanilla cheesecake inside! Thankfully, the blob of caramel wasn't measly but still.. It ain't ever going to be cheesecake with no cheesecake! Tasting extremely like a buttery toffee with a good saline kick, the sauce made the perfect accompaniment for the soft fluffy dough with extra sugary goodness from the set, cracked topping - Not particularly cheesecake in flavour but nice enough. A 2.5 out of 5! 

Blimey. It's a Doughnut.. Disaster? Well, the Smores is a keeper and I can quite easily see myself buying a few of them whilst they are around but the others? Maple Crunch needs to be banned, entire stock and ingredients incarcerated and then banned again. The Chocolate Firecracker may woo the chilli fanatics but I would like popping candy please.. And stars on top! ..AND the Salted Caramel Cheesecake obviously needs cheesecake. Perhaps KK have tried to be too adventurous and taken on to much but it is really not on to be chucking out half-arsed products.. They cost enough and shouldn't be sloppy! 

Just to make their workload even more strenuous for themselves, the jolly chaps at Krispy Kreme have also decided to run a Throwback campaign which we all "voted" on with Powdered Blueberry winning.. But of course, the contest was too close to call and all entrants will be making an appearance for 2 weeks each.

Glazed Kreme

Our glazed doughnut filled with light and fluffy Kreme filling. 

It's the Glazed Kreme to kick things off! Extremely sticky on the outside thanks to a water icing glaze, the doughnut left a visible puddle of semi dissolved sugar which was pretty much a nightmare to get off the table! The dough aspect was hugely superior to the previous 4 (Despite none lacking or being poor) the spring and aerated texture was, I think the best I have ever had from a KK. As for the filling, it was also sheer perfection with a light, whipped feel and super sweet, vanilla flavour. A 4.5 out of 5 from me!

For anyone interested, this is the order of Throwback Doughnuts to come:
Powdered Blueberry - 19th September
Cruller - 3rd October
Pumpkin Spiced - 17th October 

And for anyone still reading.. I now feel a bit sick. Hop on over to NibsnScribs for a totally different take on todays newbies and have a lovely evening! 

*Apparently all KK are Vegetarian? Who knew. 

Review- M&S NEW Spirit of Summer: Dirty Fries

I really like chips. Like, really really, which is somewhat ironic given that I went off potatoes entirely for about 2 years, a while back. Thankfully those days are long gone and as soon as I saw these Spirit of Summer Dirty Fries, I knew they would be mine! 

Perhaps somewhat foolishly ignoring that "mild" heat warning, I purchased the 500g side dish for £3, choosing once again to opt out of the Pizza meal deal. Freezer fanatics rejoice but bad news for Veggies.. Good old porky bacon is included so best steer clear if that's the life you've chosen!  

Battered spiced chips with cheese and bacon sauce topped with mozzarella cheese, jalapeño peppers and parsley. 

Why are the fries a shade of mahogany? Why do they bear no resemblance to the picture on the packaging? All good questions I feel. 

I popped the foil tray into a preheated 180ºC Fan oven for about 25 minutes until piping hot with the cheese bubbling away.. Sure enough, the hue hadn't changed apart from falling further into the mahogany abyss.

Anyone who doesn't want to face plant their tech screen, may as well leave now.. What a glorious gooey sight to behold! Bizarrely smelling uncanny to Pizza Hut, pizza, the fries were loaded with a stringy, full of creamy flavour, melted cheese puddle with enough being present to cover the lot as well as to dunk into. A crisp, almost fried batter like coating covered the soft and fluffy fries which I found to almost have a sweet taste and were certainly not like any I had, had before.. I could even see past the mild lingering spice! Nibs of jalapeño however were one thing I did struggle with as much to my dismay, they were everywhere! - Although understandably great for those who like a kick but for me, I found it all to much and my mouth and throat were near death! As for the bacon sauce, it was hardly noticeable with everything else going on.. Perhaps it did contribute to the overall smokey, chilli, garlic, herby flavour but I would have thought it would have been more distinguishable regardless of the strength of heat. 

Blimey, these Dirty Fries are certainly a taste sensation! There is so much going on, from full on cheesy goodness to spiced, sweet/savoury chips to a real kick* of heat, all whilst managing to smell like a popular chain restaurant and appearing not as they seem - They are bizarre, they are indulgent and they are very much enjoyable! If you've been umming and ahhing, get them - You won't regret it and there's even enough to feed M&S's "serves 2" claim! It's a 4 out of 5 from me (And MSW!). 

*Please do bear in mind that I find everything spicy. I can't handle black pepper let alone chilli, jalapeños.. Or anything else remotely seasoned. It's essentially a Russian roulette every time I eat as to what extent my face will be on fire. I like boring and I like bland. 

Reivew- M&S NEW Spirit of Summer: Kentucky Bourbon BBQ Corn Chips

Kentucky Bourbon BBQ Corn Chips - It's a snacky option for Spirit of Summer review number 4! 

Kentucky bourbon whiskey and barbecue flavoured corn chips with black pepper and coriander. 

I can't say I was overly impressed with the selection of "exotic" crisps in M&S when I picked up this 150g bag for £1.50.. I am not sure what I did expect really - What does constitute an exotic crisp? Something salsa-y? No doubt spicy too, much to my dismay! These Corn Chips seemed to be the best of a bad bunch and a good all round option as they're gluten free, Veggie and Vegan suitable! 

Being so conditioned to Doritos, the rectangle shape of the potent BBQ smelling Chips threw me at first - I did like their neat appearance however! Having a munch, they proved to be very crunchy as expected with the signature almost sweet, corn flavour. I found the BBQ aspect to fairly mild in comparison to the scent with the main taste being herbs, general smokey-ness and chilli which naturally, I found to blow my head off. The coriander lingered afterwards along with quite a bit of salt making them moreish with a kick of heat at the back of the throat. As for the bourbon whiskey aspect, I could taste none and am dubious to how much was actually put in to begin with given it's one of the last ingredients to be listed on the packet! 

Overall, these Kentucky Bourbon BBQ Corn Chips aren't much to my liking due to the "spice" but they went down a treat with my taste testers despite the different flavour elements being a little off - The bag hardly lasted the afternoon! Having said that however, I still can't help but feel M&S have missed a real opportunity here.. They even could have done a "dessert" crisp, the way they're chucking dulce de leche and coconut around - Now that would have been totally unique! It's a 3.5 out of 5 from me.

Review- Lurpak NEW Smoked Chipotle Infusions

Does anyone else have a particular Baking Butter of choice? I know I do.. It's Unsalted Lurpak - Always has been and always will. When it comes to quality I don't think you can beat it.. Which is exactly why I was quite excited to see something a bit different from the brand - It's a NEW Infusions line! 

Give your flatbreads and wraps a flavour kick with Lurpak Infusions Smoked Chipotle. The whipped blend of Lurpak butter and rapeseed oil, infused with smoky chilli and spices, is the easy way to life your food Dollop and spread straight from the fridge, then top with whatever takes your fancy. 

I discovered the dinky 115g, Smoked Chipotle tub in Tesco where it was on offer for £1 along with a Chilli & Lime version as well as Sea Salt & Pink Peppercorn. The spread which is suitable for Vegetarians, contains no palm oil, hydrogenated fats or artificial colourings.. And is suitable for home freezing but not microwaving*. 

Since I'm not all that keen on flatbreads or wraps, I decided that topping Ryvita with the spread was the next best option. Very light and mousse like with a texture that I can only liken to Boursin, the Infusions smelt also like a spiced cheese and was very smooth in the mouth. Taste wise, it wasn't cheesy at all but super smoky with a real kick of chilli which almost bowled me over but MSW loved it. A garlic flavour was also most apparent, pairing up nicely with the fiery heat. As for the "butter" aspect.. I wouldn't say you would know it was one despite containing 62% - There was no real flavour of Lurpak itself due to all the Chipotle burn.. But was delicious nevertheless! 

Well, this NEW Smoked Chipotle Infusions is definitely one for the heat lovers - The potency of spice is unquestionable and as spreads go, it's faultless. I would say though, if you're looking for a butter equivalent, this isn't really it.. And if you're looking for a cream cheese equivalent, it's not going to be that either.. It's more of its own mysterious, tasty condiment! - A 4.5 out of 5 from me! 

*Does anyone even care about this information? I get the Veggie brigade kicking off (Ish) but who is concerned if they can microwave their spread.. Heck, you're clearly a bunch of rule breakers anyways and would do it regardless.