marks and spencer Archives - Page 4 of 4

July 17, 2010

Lemon Sole with Shallot and Tarragon Butter

Had another one of those dishes from Marks and Spencers’ The Cook Menu range: Atlantic Lemon Sole fillets with Shallot and Tarragon butter and Cherry tomatoes.

A simple dish, pan fry the fish for a few minutes with the tomatoes and then add the butter. Serve.

I served mine with some salad and steamed asparagus.

It was simple to cook and importantly very quick. Yes this is a dish you could throw together yourself from raw ingredients, but unless you have all the ingredients can result in either an expensive dish or one missing that vital piece of the jigsaw.

I am not a fan of precooked cook chill products you bung in the microwave, however this range from Marks and Spencers (and other supermarkets like Waitrose and Tesco are now doing them too) are quick and easy, but also give you ideas and inspirsation for when you do have the time. They are also just the ingredients and are raw products that need cooking.

January 16, 2010

Lemon Sole with Shallot and Tarragon Butter

Had another one of those dishes from Marks and Spencers’ The Cook Menu range: Atlantic Lemon Sole fillets with Shallot and Tarragon butter and Cherry tomatoes.

A simple dish, pan fry the fish for a few minutes with the tomatoes and then add the butter. Serve.

I served mine with some fresh pasta and steamed vegetables.

January 15, 2010

Pork in a creamy apple sauce

Cooked and enjoyed Marks and Spencers’ Pork Medallions with a cider and shallot sauce last night

I normally prefer to cook my own sauces than use shop ones, but this Marks and Spencers isn’t too bad.

Whatever you fancy for dinner and whatever the occasion, M&S’s NEW The Cook Menu has something to offer. You’ll ﬁnd a variety of exciting dishes, inspired by ﬂavours from around the world, which all use the very best ingredients: fresh vegetables, sustainable ﬁsh and quality cuts of meat from M&S-approved farms. The preparation work has been done for you, so you can concentrate on the enjoyment of cooking and add an individual touch.

So what do you get?

Well you get some pork fillet sliced and a sachet of sauce, not enough sauce really, more would have been nice.

So you pan fry the pork and then remove from the pan and heat through the sauce.

I served mine with some fresh pasta and steamed vegetables.

It wasn’t that bad actually, quite good really.

Yes you could do this all yourself, however I didn’t have a huge amount of time, and nor did I have the ingredients for the sauce and that’s the real time and money saver with these.

Would I buy it again, yes I would.

December 19, 2009

Christmas is coming…

As the big day approaches, I am starting to make the final preparations for the festive meal.

We are going to have the four bird roast from Marks and Spencers with Parmentier Potatoes and a spread of vegetables.

Hopefully it should all go to plan.

November 15, 2009

Christmas Four Bird Roast

Well my plan for a Christmas Four Bird Roast was scuppered last year. I had intended to order one from Marks and Spencers which consisted of Turkey, Goose, Duck, Chicken.

However when I went to order it was apparent that many others had had the same idea and it had sold out! I am guessing that a) a lot of people were like me and liked the concept b) the Marks and Spencers version was good value for money at £100. There was no way you could even do it yourself for £100. Waitrose’s version was £120 and only consisted of a three bird roast.

So this year I got in early and managed to order one.

Now from the description I believe that this isn’t in fact four birds one stuffed within another, but a large turkey stuffed with goose, duck, chicken and stuffing. Still it sounds nice, and according to the person at Marks and Spencers who I ordered it from, it went down well at their Christmas last year.

November 7, 2009January 6, 2020

Marks and Spencers Pork Medallions

Cooked and enjoyed Marks and Spencers’ Pork Medallions with a cider and shallot sauce.

I normally prefer to cook my own sauces than use shop ones, but as I was in Marks and Spencers and looking at their The Cook Menu range decided to give it a go.

Whatever you fancy for dinner and whatever the occasion, M&S’s NEW The Cook Menu has something to offer. You’ll ﬁnd a variety of exciting dishes, inspired by ﬂavours from around the world, which all use the very best ingredients: fresh vegetables, sustainable ﬁsh and quality cuts of meat from M&S-approved farms. The preparation work has been done for you, so you can concentrate on the enjoyment of cooking and add an individual touch.

So what do you get?

Well you get some pork fillet sliced and a sachet of sauce, not enough sauce really, more would have been nice.

So you pan fry the pork and then remove from the pan and heat through the sauce.

I served mine with some rice and steamed vegetables.

It wasn’t that bad actually, quite good really.

Yes you could do this all yourself, however I didn’t have a huge amount of time, and nor did I have the ingredients for the sauce and that’s the real time and money saver with these.

Would I buy it again, yes I would.

September 21, 2009

Not just any Cooking Chorizo, this is M&S Chorizo…

A few weeks back I mentioned how Tesco had started to sell cooking chorizo again. Well I have noticed that Marks and Spencer are now selling it as well.

For dishes such as Chorizo Frito al Vino and Paella it works much better than the dried version. It is easy to slice and cooks really easily.

August 3, 2009December 15, 2021

Slow roasted pork belly

You don’t always have to use expensive cuts of meat to make a wonderful meal, sometimes the cheapest cuts cooked really slowly can have fantastic flavour and texture.

I do have a passion for pork belly, and remembering a dish I had my local pub, when I saw a slab of pork belly on sale at Marks and Spencer decided to create my own version.

Turn on your oven to its highest temperature.

I chopped some root vegetable, onion and carrot, added some mushrooms and potatoes and placed it in a roasting pan.

I placed the belly pork on the root vegetables and seasoned it. I then placed this in the really hot oven, turning the temperature right down to 160. I then left the pork to roast for about two hours. This may not seem long, but it wasn’t a huge piece of pork like a leg joint.

As it cooked I did add some wine and water now and again to the bottom of the roasting pan, so it didn’t dry out.

The result was a fantastic moist, tender wonderfully flavoured piece of pork. Which I sliced and served with vegetables.

Slow roasted pork belly