For Throw Back Thursday, I’m going back to one of my February Marley Spoon boxes. Marley Spoon is a weekly food subscription service and if you’d like to give it a try for yourself, use the coupon code COOKSMART for $30 off.
My meal plan is for a weekly delivery of 2 meals (2 portions each), which costs $48.
Marley Spoon sent me more free stuff. Some more Valentine’s day chocolate and a free bag!
Freebies are always fun!
Chicken with Miso-Tahini Sauce Carrots and Potatoes
Chicken is a staple in my household and this had ingredients I thought my boyfriend would enjoy as well.
Our usual fresh ingredients:
The chicken sears in a pan while the veggies roast in the oven. Then you throw the browned chicken in with the roasted veggies and finish them in the oven for a few minutes.
While they cook, you make the miso tahini sauce.
You slice your chicken, add it and your veggies to a platter, top with some sauce and sprinkle with a bit of parsley.
Then you have this:
Taste: Love!
This was easy and super tasty, even my boyfriend who isn’t always into some of Marley’s recipes, really liked this one. The sauce has a strong flavor but it works with the other ingredients and the chicken was really fresh.
Portion Size: Ample
Good for Entertaining?: Yes. I thought the flavors on this were great and could work with a lot of different cuisines. I’d probably start with a baked goat cheese dip topped with apricots, walnuts and honey with pita for dipping. Along with the chicken dish, I’d serve a marinated seafood salad and dessert would be raspberry lemon bars. For a cocktail I’d serve a drink I stole from PF Chang’s which is just iced black tea with Mango rum and a touch of lemon juice.
Seared Strip Steak with Brussels Sprouts and Celery Root Purée
I love the quality of meat from Marley spoon and I’d never cooked Celery Root so I thought I’d give this a try.
More fresh ingredients:
Brussels sprouts get roasted in the oven, while the celery root gets cooked in a saucepan with milk and rosemary. I had worried the rosemary seemed a bit much, but I was willing to go on trust.
Meanwhile we sear the steak and sauté some shallots.
I removed the celery root and puréed it in a blender since the last time I used the stick version there was a lot of collateral damage.
In the end we have a lovely well balanced meal:
Taste: So Close & yet so far
Portion Size: Ample
The steak was lovely and the celery root came out with an amazing texture, but there was one huge problem. The puree tasted like eating a Christmas tree. The rosemary was so overwhelming that it rendered the dish inedible. My boyfriend asked “Who would do this?” I have no idea who thought it was a good idea but it ruined what could have been an amazing dish.
Good for Entertaining?: Only with tweaking. I’d obviously omit the rosemary from the Celery root puree. For an appetizer, I’d keep things light with a roasted shrimp cocktail. (I’m partial to this recipe from the Barefoot Contessa.) I’d add some goat cheese stuffed mushrooms as an additional side and serve a pinot noir for an alcoholic drink. Dessert would be something chocolate, probably a Chocolate sour cream bundt cake.
OVERALL
Verdict: Like!
The only flaw with this box was the rosemary in the puree. Without that, I would have had two amazing dishes. The brown miso in the chicken dish and the celery root in the steak recipe, were new ingredients for me and probably ones I wouldn’t have picked out on my own. I love that I got to try them out and learn how to incorporate them into dishes.
Have you ever tried a fresh meal subscription service? If so, what did you think?
THE BACKSTORY
Marley’s Spoon creates delicious, easy to follow recipes.
They deliver fresh, pre-portioned ingredients and you select your recipes from their changing weekly menu.
They are dedicated to sourcing organic and sustainable whenever possible. Building relationships with environmentally aware farms and producers ensures that the highest quality ingredients arrive at your door each week.
Using trusted delivery partners, your Marley Spoon boxes come insulated and chilled, staying cool for 30 hours! After delivery, all the ingredients are guaranteed to stay fresh for up to 4 days – allowing you to decide when to cook.
Marley’s Spoon donates any leftover ingredients to City Harvest. City Harvest exists to end hunger in communities throughout New York City through food rescue and distribution, education, and other practical, innovative solutions.
Each week you’ll automatically receive great dishes, but as a flexible subscription, you can skip a week or pause your subscription anytime. You can also change delivery frequency, recipes, and the number of portions you’d like to receive.
Marley’ Spoon delivers to the mid Atlantic and New England regions: most of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, and Washington D.C.
Monthly Cost:
Varies by number of servings and number of meals.
Check here for the configuration of your choice
COUPON CODE: COOKSMART
Lisa Preziosi 
I enjoyed reading your latest culinary adventures with the subscription and but I am curious does the recipe ask to add salt and pepper at least to the chicken and steak before cooking in the pan?
Ursula
http://www.blueridgebeautyblogger.com
Yes, the recipe calls for salt and pepper in pretty much each item you are cooking. It also usually asks you to use olive oil as well. Most Marley Spoon recipes require you to have salt, pepper, and olive or vegetable oil on hand.