Snackmas Day 10- KFC UK Colonel's Christmas Burger

Anyone up for a second sleigh ride to a Fast Food joint? I'm down for whatever.. But mostly for this, first of its kind, Christmas Burger from everyones* favourite clucky shop, KFC! 

Yes, he may be late to the party but The Colonel is finally whitening his beard, rosying his cheeks and adorning his Christmas hat by venturing into a festive addition to the chains menu! Posing the age old question "Because who really likes turkey anyway?", the burger comes as part of a Fully Loaded Box Meal with a drink and side of your choice along with fries and a piece of original recipe chicken, all for £5.99.. You can always buy one individually however if for some crazy reason, you're not in the mood for the full works. 

Original recipe fillet, hash brown, cranberry sauce and sage and onion stuffing mayo - It's christmas in a bun. 

A festive twist on the classic Fillet Tower, the burger certainly looked the part with some sneaky cheese on show and the obligatory overkill of lettuce.. 

And the cranberry sauce actually oozed! - Always a good sign that a generous amount is waiting for one! Working from the outside in, the bun itself was super fresh and a decent enough "holder" to the fillings despite being extremely soft and light. Contrasting to this was a crunch from the cooked to perfection, crisp hash brown before hitting the melted cheese upon succulent, signature coated chicken combo beneath. This all made for a solid start even before hitting the pleasantly herby and very much stuffing-esque flavour of the creamy mayo - I would have liked a smidgen more but no matter. Sweet yet tart enough to identify as being cranberry, the sticky sauce brought everything together, went surprisingly well with the chicken and really reinforced the overall feel of a Christmas dinner.. Even with the abundance of healthy, lettuce on the side! Marvellous!

Ah, old Colonel Sanders has been a right secret Santa here in keeping this Christmas Burger from us for so long.. It may be fairly simple but it's been executed well with loads of different textures and most importantly, all the festive flavours one could want, going on! Because who really likes turkey anyway? Me, I do ..But it has no place here! It's a 4 out of 5 from me. 

*Has anyone ever gone to KFC to find that they are sold out of chicken? My friend Nikki has.. And she made the papers for it! Hi Nikki, hi! 

Review- KFC UK NEW The Original Recipe Stacker

As I ended up not having the McDonald's South African Stack I was so looking forward to on Wednesday, I had to come up with plan B.. Going all the way next door to KFC and getting their NEW Original Recipe Stacker. There was no way I was going without my junk fix.. Heck, if there had been a Burger King too, I wouldn't have hesitated in doing a proper fast food crawl!

Crikey, the box to this thing was a beast! ..As was the price tag which I think was £4.99 on its own or £5.99 as part of a meal. Either way, I was charged £6.69 for it - Is there a surcharge for having a bottle of water as the drink in a regular meal? Someone find out for me. 

Two fillets of our classic original recipe chicken, sandwiched between cheese, barbecue and all-new baconnaise sauces. 

So I didn't bother to rectify the state of today's sandwich.. Why are the employees in these places so incapable of stacking competently? It's even in the bloody name this time, folks! Also, the box turned out to be an overkill with the burger I felt, being dwarfed in comparison.  

What an absolute mess. I do apologise for the fairly grotesque shot but given that everything was all slipey-slidey sloppy and prepped abysmally, there was not a lot I could do about it! Starting with the bun, it was the usual sort that KFC have to offer with not much in terms of doughy texture and hardly a substantial enough carrier for the packed "stack" within.. AKA 2 very solid, watery, chewy chicken fillets - Not what you expect but they did taste alright with their semi crisp coating and the glue like cheese slices coming through. Moving onto the sauces and the generous blob of barbecue certainly delivered in terms of smokiness and wasn't artificial in the slightest. As for the Baconnaise.. My taste buds decided it was somewhat reminiscent of Big Mac sauce with an almost gherkin-esque flavour mixed in with creamy bacon tones, making for something pretty darn delicious! The different flavours   compliment each other remarkably well with the addition of lettuce providing a fresh hit along with a bit of crunch - Tasty but messy!

So.. I am very much torn by this NEW Original Recipe Stacker. I shall not punish it for the poor chicken as my KFC can be quite hit or miss when it comes to the quality pieces the push out but they fact the bun isn't anywhere near robust enough for the sheer volume of fillings, along with feeling that 2 fillets aren't really necessary, just puts me off. Keep the delightful sauces, swap one of the chicken for a hash brown, fire and rehire your kitchen staff and do away with the OTT box and you'll be onto an all round better burger, KFC - It's a 3.5 out of 5 from me. 

Review- McDonald's UK NEW Great Tastes of the World: The South African Stack

Today is the day I have been waiting weeks, like a loser for.. Great Tastes of the World is back at McDonald's! - Yay, delicious fast food! As seen with the American trio back in the Spring, the burgers are once again of the double patty format with each being around for 2 weeks. 

  

This fortnights offering is The South African Stack and what I thought was going to be a smoky BBQ lovers, dream.. Until my bubble was promptly burst last night that is, when receiving a peppy newsletter stating exactly what the burger was to entail - Pepper Cheese? Ugh. Hot & Spicy Mayo? Eurgh. Paprika Bun? Ugh Eurgh. Safe to say, I was out but MSW was still very much in as an eager beaver and I picked her up a medium meal for £5.99. 

Two 100% British and Irish beef patties, Smoky BBQ sauce, Beechwood smoked bacon, Pepper Jack cheese, Hot & Spicy mayo, lettuce and a slice of tomato, in a glazed paprika topped bun. 

So I am pretty sure a McDonald's monkey had literally thrown the thing into the box and just hoped for the best - The bottom bun was practically hanging over the edge with the patties themselves being on bare cardboard and a real splodge of oozing sauce all over the show. Thankfully with a bit of a budge and twist, the Burger looked somewhat presentable.. Even if a little sloppy and dented from a rogue thumb. 

MSW took a big old bite for us to reveal the smorgasbord of fillings with the mayo still intent on going everywhere. Starting with the soft bun which was a tad burnt in places, the paprika aspect was relatively mild but definitely an original concept. Both beef patties which naturally went well with the melted cheese, were full of juicy meaty flavour with not an ounce of dryness or much grease at the opposite end of the spectrum. As for the BBQ sauce.. It was pretty elusive with MSW left wondering if there was any in there to begin with - You certainly wouldn't associate it as being a BBQ Burger.. Perhaps down to the fact that the mayo delivered a real kick of heat and was undeniably the most prominent flavour and star of the show! Despite this, all the elements paired nicely together with the bacon adding both texture and porky tones and freshness from the salad - Delish. 

Overall, it sounds as though The South African Stack is a winning start to Mcdonald's Great Tastes of the World series.. Even if the BBQ sauce has gone amiss here! If you like a bit of warmth to your Burgers, this could be the one for you - It's a 4 out of 5 from MSW and two thumbs up! The Swiss Stack.. Be ready for me on the 26th, I'm coming for ya! 

Snackmas Day 2- M&S Festive Sandwiches

Christmas Is All Around.. As are Festive Sandwiches! Literally, every foodie place will have 1 if not numerous meat offerings as well as Veggie alternatives. I am more than ok with this as a self confessed super fan of such things.. Hark, my favourite place to eat out at is Dobbies, the Garden Centre, purely because you can make your own panini's and they have Turkey, Cranberry and Brie - I like a festive fix all year round! 

It will come as no surprise to hear that when November is upon us and the Festive Sammies are in full swing, not just in Garden Centres, I consume a hell of a lot of the things. Today, we've got a trio of M&S, in aid of the charity, Shelter.

Turkey Feast

Butter basted roast British turkey breast with pork, sage and onion stuffing, cranberry chutney, smoked British bacon and mayonnaise on malted brown bread. 

I was concerned at first at the prospect of a NEW recipe as last years was perfect as is but luckily nothing had been compromised.. Just check out that generous, glistening of purply, red cranberry chutney! The remarkably robust capsule of brown bread was perfectly soft with a very much wholesome taste yet only slight malt edge. Inside was a thick filling of tender turkey complimented by the herby stuffing with slightly salted bacon in abundance which was balanced out by the sweet cranberry. The mayo element certainly didn't go a miss even though I couldn't really identify it but it did add another "wet" element to keep things moist. Sweet Little *Jazzy* Jesus Boy, its Christmas in a sandwich - 4.5 out of 5! 

Turkey & Pigs in Blankets 

British pork sausages and smoked British bacon, butter basted roast British turkey breast, cranberry chutney, spiced mayonnaise and spinach on sage and onion bread. 

Next up is the Turkey & Pigs In Blankets because after all.. Whats Christmas without a pig in blanket or 12? Thankfully, a good amount of herby sausage was included which was the main flavour with undertones of the turkey and bacon in the background. The cranberry chutney had the same sweet tang as above even although there wasn't anywhere near as much making it a much dryer sandwich - Not something I'd usually opt for! A taste of cloves was very apparent but not to much to spoil it.. I think. I really don't like cloves (There was a Ham incident last year - Everyone involved was traumatised) but this was barable. Rounding things off nicely was the sage and onion bread which tasted uncanny to stuffing - I would buy it in loaves if they sold it! Its a 4 out of 5 from me. 

Brie & Grape 

Brie cheese and red grapes with a grape and port jelly, mayonnaise and lettuce on oatmeal bread. 

Last but by no means least is the Brie & Grape which was also loaded with a sauce.. Slightly boozy tasting and tangy port jelly! Distributed throughout this was lots and lots of grapes which added a subtle fruitiness and overall made things taste very light and fresh even with the creamy yet strong flavour from the cheese above. I was surprised how generously it was filled - At least 4 slices of cheese were in each half of the sandwich! The lettuce and mayo was the final layer before meeting the oaty bread.. No spices this time thankfully! Its essentially a soft and squidgy version of your Cheese, Grapes and Crackers - 3.5 out of 5 from me! 

Overall and as expected, I loved all 3 of these Festive Sandwiches! They are definitely for those who don't mind the 'chuck everything in and hope for the best' way of life as there is a lot going on in each of them and for that, I can't fault them. I can however fault M&S themselves.. Only 5% of the sale of these sandwiches* go to Shelter. Given they are priced at £3.30, £3 and £2.80 respectively, that's a total of £9.10 in which only 45p goes to charity. That is absolutely abysmal. Talk about being a Scrooge! Talk about a Blue Christmas! Sort it out M&S.

*For anyone who is interested there is a Veggie option, Gluten free Turkey Feast as well as a 'healthy' jobbie and Beef - Otherwise known as, EVERYTHING!