Not sure if it’s worth complaining. The ladies of my life were otherwise engaged and I was wandering around the M&S Leeds store fantasising about a seriously oversized steak pie with flaky pastry crust when my eyes fell upon a pack of your M&S ‘Steak and Kidney Puddings’. May 11, 2014 - Steak and Kidney Pudding: A classic British recipe for a meal of steak and kidney steamed in a pressure cooker Effectively, they were Steve’s steak and kidney puddings. Suet is used in traditional boiled, steamed or baked savoury and sweet puddings, such as steak and kidney pudding, spotted dick and jam roly-poly. Heat half the butter in a heated pan and add the meat. Warm the butter and oil in a casserole and brown the meat (including the kidney) in batches, removing each to a dish. We have rigorous control agreements with all our food suppliers to ensure that our food quality is maintained to the highest possible standard. It would be refreshing if you were to admit to, and apologise for, selling a thoroughly disgusting, cheap and nasty product and undertake to replace it with something that deserves to carry an M&S label. Thanks for taking the time to contact us again about the steak and kidney puddings. I give it one out of ten – for managing to send it to the right email address. I therefore live a life of severe nutritional deprivation. Privacy Policy, Site Rules and Other Dull Stuff, https://www.marksandspencer.com/contactus, National Public Radio USA: The Fine Art of the Complaint Letter, Telegraph.co.uk – The Best Complaint Letters of All Time, Ryanair: Child, Not-That-Bright, Vacant and Middle Gimp, Britannia Hotels: Probably the Worst Hotel in the World. "I had a steak and kidney pie last night - I don't care if there is a bottom, all I want is a nice firm lid" B erry's recipes on the BBC programme have been a talking point each week . Pour flour into a bowl and season well. I couldn’t resist. In the morning - return the pastry to cool room temperature, then roll it out thinly on a wellfloured surface. For the pastry, first sift the flour and the salt into a large mixing bowl. Cakes and baking. I also hear that Steve is a cigar smoker so I think we would get along really well. dish. Of necessity, we have a very healthy diet of nothing but freshly prepared food. HERE, you can get an explanation of uniquely British and American English words and avoid the many linguistic tripwires involved in crossing the pond. Clearly, steaming had been the right thing to do. Thank you for your anonymous reply to my email on the subject of Marks and Spencers Steak and Kidney Puddings. What you need … I know that this had all started because I wanted gluten but I was actually expecting to get some serious animal protein to go with it. So, with my overflowing plate, chilled beer and a recorded episode of ‘Top Gear’ on the television, I was about as close to heaven as a bloke eating a billy-no-mates dinner can get. Stir in the onion, celery salt, pepper, salt and thyme leaves. It's worth noting that suet pastry always needs more water than other types, so if it is still a bit dry just go on adding a few drops at a time. Then I cut into one of my M&S Steak and Kidney Puddings. laughing my brains out. Learn how your comment data is processed. Gas. “Where was my steak and kidney?” I asked myself. Equipment and preparation: You will need a well-buttered, 1.5 litre/2½ pint capacity pudding basin and a steamer. You know when I bought them and from which store so you have all the information you need to DO SOMETHING. Stir the stout into the remaining flour left in the bowl, then pour into the pan of meat with the stock, … Same result. Heat two tablespoons of the oil in a large non-stick frying pan and fry the steak, in … I’m sorry you’re disappointed with the quality of them. With great joy,and thanks to your timely review I will invest The aim is to bring it together as a dough, so keep adding drops of water until it begins to get really claggy and sticky. thank you for that! Tuck the foil in firmly around the rim. Now abandon the knife, go in with your hands and bring it all together until you have a nice smooth elastic dough, which leaves the bowl clean. Mary Rosa Alleyne Hunnings CBE (née Berry; born 24 March 1935), known professionally as Mary Berry, is a British food writer, chef and television presenter. 12) Spoon little of the cooked meat mixture and a little gravy on it. Strictly speaking, the buck stops with Steve. Among the various vernacular rhyming slang names for steak and kidney pudding are "Kate and Sidney pudding", "wake and bakey pudding", "snake and kiddy pudding" and "snake and pygmy pudding". I love gluten. Drain the lentils from the water. I cut open the pudding to see if there was anything else in there. To serve, either serve the pudding by spooning portions straight out of the bowl, or slide a palette knife round the edge and turn the whole thing out on to a serving plate (which is more fun!). I could leave half a pudding and a chip or two. Not only could I rectify my gluten deficiency at a stroke, but I could also rekindle childhood memories of my mother’s home made steamed suet puddings. Yes air because, for the most part, that is all the pudding contained. Light beige just doesn’t cut it. To make the filling, mix the flour, salt, pepper and thyme together in a bowl, add the steak and kidneys and stir well until the meat is evenly coated with the flour mixture, then mix in the onion. Just to say that was first class, an absolute This was perfect. Do you sit on your Butt or collect rainwater in it? Or lung perhaps. Air. Taste to check the seasoning and add a few drops of Worcestershire sauce. Steak and kidney pudding is a savoury pudding made by enclosing diced steak and beef, and lamb's or pig's kidney pieces in gravy in a suet pastry. Tyres and balloons deflate. It might have received a higher mark if you had actually bothered to read my email first. Actually, to be more accurate, my wife is gluten intolerant. Please be aware this email is from a ‘no reply’ email address. From: Marks and Spencer Customer Service , Date: 18 February 2013 06:52:26 ESTSubject: Your M&S. They will, of course, offer you a refund for the steak and kidney puddings. Preheat the oven to 220°C/428°F/Gas Mark 7. It's my belief that if you... Aug 23, 2017 - I may be old-fashioned, but I really love a traditional steak and kidney pudding, steamed in a suet crust. Add enough cold water to reach almost the top of the meat and sprinkle in a few drops of Worcestershire sauce and another seasoning of salt and pepper. For instance, there is no point in asking me to send you the packaging when I had in fact already told you that it had been recycled. I almost gave you an extra mark for using the word “sorry” once in your email but alas, it had all the sincerity of Hannibal Lechter saying he was becoming a vegetarian so you missed out there too. Not just one, but two of the little darlings nestling in every box. Cut out a quarter and reserve. A little narrative background and the occasional tongue-in-cheek remark would have been greatly appreciated. However, most disappointing of all however is the fact that you gave me the impression that you are going to do nothing whatsoever about your disgusting steak and kidney puddings. Reserve 1/3 for the lid and roll out the remainder on a lightly floured surface. Treacle pudding with nutmeg, lemon and lime ... Steak and kidney pudding. It is always helpful when the reply reflects, in some small way, the content of the original communication. In the meantime, please let me know what is going to happen about the dreadful steak and kidney puddings. the money on a couple of pints of guinness. He’s only been in the job since October so he should still be really keen. Seal well and cover with a double sheet of foil, pleated in the centre to allow room for expansion while cooking. After that, take a quarter of the dough for the lid, then roll the rest out fairly thickly. Put all the meat back into the casserole and over a … Now it just so happens that Monday 11th February was one such occasion. I added a box of ‘Gastropub Thick Cut Chips’ and a token bag of fresh green vegetables (because I can’t shrug off my conditioning completely) and on the way home I picked up a couple of bottles of real ale to wash it all down. In a small pan, reheat the 100ml of the reserved stock and add the lentils, stirring to combine. I was genuinely excited. 9) Butter a 1/3-pint pudding basin and roll each piece of dough out to a covering the base. Something that not only tastes of steak and kidney, but actually contains some. What it wasn’t was steak. As the cat is quite a lot smaller than me, it didn’t seem fair that she got more meat that I did. I should have used a dictaphone and a camera like they do on in ‘Silent Witness’. Invert a 28-30x23cm, 6.5cm deep pie dish on to the pastry. In stitches. Sticky toffee pudding. I did eventually manage to find the toenail clipping sized shreds of kidney and I can promise you that the amount of kidney in both puddings combined would have failed to cover a penny coin. Dear Faceless Customer Relations Operative. Nothing better than a laughter trickle I say. I’m afraid we’re unable to advise you what action our suppliers are going to take regarding the steak and kidney puddings as this will be looked in to internally. Aug 23, 2017 - I may be old-fashioned, but I really love a traditional steak and kidney pudding, steamed in a suet crust. Thanks for taking the time to contact us about the steak and kidney pudding. Despite the care we take, we’ve clearly not been successful on this occasion. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a round of about 30 cm in diameter. Thanks Paul. cracker. Add about 150ml (¼ pint) cold water and work to a soft dough. OMG. Sussex pond pudding with apples by Mary Berry. If she eats gluten, she becomes very ill indeed – for up to six weeks! Taken together, the solid contents of each pudding would have fitted on a standard desert spoon. Then place it in a steamer over boiling water. Keep remaining for the lids. Meanwhile, boil the lentils in salted water for 15 minutes, or until tender. Heat two tablespoons of the oil in a large non-stick frying pan and fry the steak, in batches, over a … I love them all but they’re all banned at our house. Now line the bowl with the pastry, pressing it well all around. Sadly, it didn’t occur to me to note batch numbers before the packaging disappeared into the recycling but I’m sure you can work this out from the date and location of purchase in any event. Method. Then the pudding deflated. From: Marks and Spencer Customer Service Date: Tue 26/02/2013 15:43. I hope you won’t tell me that this was a faulty batch that ‘slipped through the net’. I’m sorry you’re unhappy with my response. After that, take a quarter of the dough for the lid, then roll the rest out fairly thickly. What you need is a circle, about 32.5cm/13in in diameter. You might have earned several marks if you had replied in the same spirit of my original note. Then stir in the flour, gradually add the stock little by little to make a smooth gravy, adding a spot of gravy browning if it's needed. Retail Customer ServicesMarks & SpencerChester Business ParkWrexham RoadChesterCH4 9GA. I had a bit of a struggle getting everything on a single dinner plate but I told myself that I wasn’t actually going to eat all of it. The Pubic Hair Encrusted Soap and the Flotation Tank, Butchers Tripe Mix: Fit as a Butcher’s Dog, Smithsonian Institute: Doubt Cast on Hominid remains. This rich and flavoursome The food she eats is gluten free. There was NO steak in either pudding. PS I came accross this page seaching for the perfect If we can be of any further help, please don’t hesitate to contact us. To make the suet pastry, tip the flour, suet and salt into a bowl and mix together the ingredients. Steamed sponge pudding. All the air had escaped. Leaking from the collapsed and now alarmingly flat pudding was an anaemic coloured liquid. My indulgent feast had turned into a forensic post mortem as I dissected the limp remains of my culinary fantasy. I bet he would read my email before replying. My daughter is coeliac. Tuck into this British classic for tonight’s supper. Steam for five hours, topping up the boiling water halfway through. So, with my overflowing plate, chilled beer and a recorded episode of ‘Top Gear’ on the television, I was about as close to heaven as a bloke eating a billy-no-mates dinner can get. The suet crust was every bit as stodgy as I remembered. Read about our approach to external linking. In order to follow this up with the correct suppliers we need the packaging return to us or to your local store. pud and must say was going to purchase via M&S. Without specific information, we’re unable to feed this back to them. Apologies if some of the funny complaint letters still look a bit odd. Stir all the ingredients together, so that they’re all coated in the flour. I could leave half a pudding and a chip or two. When it's evenly blended, add a few drops of cold water and start to mix with the knife, using curving movements and turning the mixture around. Just found a horrible beast looking creature in my m and s Italian salad. After being encouraged in domestic science classes at school, she studied catering and institutional management at college. Roll out the pastry lid, dampen its edges and put it in position on the pudding. If my wife eats gluten, she gets terrible stomach and bowel pain for 48 hours afterwards. Enter your email address to subscribe to DCR and receive notifications of new posts by email. Alternatively, you can take the packaging or receipt into your local store where our staff will forward it to us. If you need a recipe, I’m sure that my mother would be able to help. These meagre contents tasted of nothing very much at all and there was a disconcerting lack of the fibrous structure one normally associates with lean meat. Then I cut into one of my M&S Steak and Kidney Puddings. Just managed to halt a small trickle of pee whilst AGL Australia: You May Want to Sit Down…. Next chop the steak and kidney into fairly small cubes (reserving the trimmings for the gravy), toss them in the seasoned flour, then add them to the pastry-lined basin with the slices of onion. My wife is gluten free. Be that as it may, I estimate that the largest piece of ‘meat’ in either pudding measured 7mm at its widest point. None. Please send us any available packaging from the product or the receipt so we can follow this up with our suppliers and send you a gift card to replace the steak and kidney puddings. Place the steak, onion, mushrooms, flour and seasoning into a bowl. Place the steak and kidney into a large bowl. Hilarious. If you’d like to share any feedback, please let us know by clicking on the following link: www.mandssurvey.co.uk/480. Coat the meat with the seasoned flour. HMRC: It is a Tax Demand, not a Begging Letter. For the gravy, simply place the meat trimmings in a saucepan with the half onion, cover with one pint of water, add some seasoning and simmer for approximately one hour. When the oil is hot, fry the coated beef in batches until it is browned on all sides. So, once in a blue moon, when my wife and daughter are both eating out with girlfriends or away on a late night shopping expedition, I get that rarest of opportunities – to abandon my gastronomic strait-jacket and indulge instead in a shameless orgy of glutinous self abuse. Add some freshly ground black pepper, then add the suet and mix it into the flour using the blade of a knife. Use this to line the Add the onion to the frying pan, with a little more oil if necessary, and fry for 3 … Stuff that is neither liquid nor solid and therefore doesn’t need much chewing and has the same nutritional value as nothing at all. Toss together lightly and set to one side. Thanks again for getting in touch. Mentally add an extra 1cm all round, then use the dish as a guide to cut out the pastry lid. DCR's new sister site is now live. Do you know the difference between Boondocks and Boondoggles? 11) Line the bottom with remaining dough and seal the edges together. As you can imagine therefore, we go to great lengths to avoid the gluten which hides in everything from OXO cubes to soy sauce. I tried the second pudding. We’re keen to know what you thought of our reply. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Instead, the lumps had the spongy texture of tasteless marshmallow. Then strain the stock, and in the same pan, fry the remaining onion, chopped small, in the beef dripping until soft and blackened at the edges. dish. That might be unwise when there are so many concerns about the integrity of processed food supply chains at the moment and disconcerting quanities of Shetland Pony keep ‘slipping through the net’ and turning up in all sorts of unusual places. Arriving home to a blissfully empty house, I resisted the temptation to slam my puddings in the microwave and instead followed the recommendation to steam them gently for 35 minutes. I must confess that at this point, I was every bit as deflated as my puddings. It made my day and I truly Pasta, pizza, crumpets, garlic bread, battered fish, spicy cous-cous, naan bread and, most of all, pies. Take a sheet of foil, fold a pleat down the centre, liberally butter the foil and place, butter-side down, on the pudding with the pleat in the middle. Perhaps I should get in contact with Steve Rowe (M&S Executive Director – Food). Fry the onion in the pan, then add the mushrooms and fry them briefly, adding more oil if you need it. Your dinner isn’t supposed to. Now secure it with string, making a little handle so that you can lift it out of the hot steamer. Personally, I like my beef gravy to be an encouraging dark brown colour. Make a wide, treble-thickness strap of foil (long enough to lift the pudding out with) and place in a large saucepan. I was genuinely excited. 10) Cut out a quarter of the circle. We've nearly finished the re-build and will soon have every letter looking very smart again. If you would like to respond, please contact us via our website https://www.marksandspencer.com/contactus and we will be happy to assist you further. Heat the oil in a pan over a medium heat and coat the beef in the flour. At least that way you would know for certain that I am not making this up. The contents looked alarmingly like the little sachet of ‘Whiskas Oh So Meaty with Gravy’ cat food I had opened for my small, hairy friend only a few minutes before – except there was much more meat in the Whiskas sachet and the cat food was broadly the right colour. See more steak and kidney pudding recipes (7), Learning to chop: the 'chiffonade' or shredding technique. 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