It’s Foodie Friday here at Subscription Therapy, as I head back to the kitchen for a review of my weekly Marley Spoon subscription box. If you’d like to try it out 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.
Cod & Orange Braised Fennel with Parmesan Asparagus Fries
One of the main reasons I love Marley Spoon is it gets me to try out fish recipes that I find otherwise intimidating.
Our usual fresh ingredients:
Another Marley Spoon recipe, another call for a “breading station”. Conveniently, the photo on the recipe card shows like 8 stalks of asparagus that we need to dredge and bread. But my bag came with approximately 5 million. I almost cried in the middle, these damn things took me so long to finish. Once they were breaded, they went into the oven for 15 to 17 minutes.
Once I’d turned 85 and finished the asparagus, I had to slice fennel –which I’ve never done before. Normally I’m pretty good with the word “slice” but fennel is not exactly the easiest vegetable to cut. I think the recipe card should have offered some instruction or visual on how best to attack it. With no instructions, my slicing went about as well as you could imagine. Once I had my oddly shaped fennel slice, I browned them in butter, then simmered them with orange juice until the sauce reduced. I topped it with the cod (which seemed a bit smaller than most fish portions I’d received before) and baked.
In the end, I got this:
Taste: No Bueno
The best thing about this dish was the asparagus and they were so time consuming to prepare that I’d reserve them for times when the main dish is very easy, (like when you just dump a bunch of stuff in the slow cooker). I was super generous with the pepper and the cod was still alarmingly bland. The fennel and orange juice just didn’t work and the ratio of fennel to fish was way off. I don’t know too many people who could eat that much fennel, but I also don’t know how to cut fennel so maybe I’m not the best reference point.
Portion Size: Lots of asparagus and fennel – very little fish.
Good for Entertaining?: No. The asparagus is tasty but way too labor intensive for a party/guests.
Spring Herb & Chicken Pot Pie with Asparagus
If it comes with puff pastry, I’ll probably choose it.
More fresh ingredients:
So Marley Spoon included extra puff pastry and said we could just save it for later use. I opted to cook the extra portions so if someone wanted more pastry with the pot pie they could have it.
This recipe called for some basic prep of slicing veggie sand chopping chicken.
You brown the chicken in a pot, remove it when browned, add in scallions celery and garlic then throw the chicken back in with flour.
After a minute, we add in Dijon mustard, broth and water. After another 5 minutes are asparagus goes into simmer for another five and then are filling is done.
We bake the puff pastry and then build are deconstructed pot pie.
Taste: Like!
This had a nice fresh taste and I loved the ease of the recipe. We cooked the majority of the recipe in one pot and prep was really straightforward. The concept of a lighter chicken pot pie for sSpring was a very good one. The recipe was thoughtful and appropriate for the season. I’d love to see more recipes like this one in my boxes.
Portion Size: Very Generous, we were able to have seconds.
Good for Entertaining?: Not really. I think this is a great weeknight recipe, but I don’t think it’s interesting enough for guests.
OVERALL
Verdict: A mixed bag
Two recipes and two wildly different experiences. It’s not just in the flavors, but in the thought behind the recipes and the effort required to make them. The cod was probably one of the worst recipes I’ve received from Marley Spoon to date and the portion of the fish felt far stingier than other fish dishes from them. The chicken pot pie was tasty, light and just the type of weeknight meal I think most subscribers are looking for. I think Marley Spoon should work on a consistency with the type of recipes they offer.
Have you ever tried a fresh meal subscription service? If so, what did you think?
THE BACKSTORY
Marley 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 