HelloFresh has introduced a holiday dinner meal kit for Christmas - we tried it and it's delicious
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- The holiday dinner drag doesn't have to be a drag if HelloFresh is in the picture.
- For the first time ever this year, the meal kit company is offering not one, but two meal options for the holidays: Turkey plus an appetizer and sides, or beef tenderloin plus an appetizer and sides.
- I had an A+ experience with both the beef and the cornucopia of sides, and if you're looking for an easy way to take care of dinner for a huge crowd, HelloFresh can help.
The holidays are a time to make merry, and as it turns out, to make enormous meals for enormous families. If the idea of the fast-approaching holiday season is causing more heart palpitations than heart-warming feelings, fret not - HelloFresh is here to help.
This year, the meal kit company is offering its first-ever Holiday Box for home cooks looking to reduce their stress levels by just a hair over the course of the next few weeks. Best of all, you aren't confined to just one holiday offering. In much the same way that there is plenty of, we'll call it variety, in your family, there's some variety in HelloFresh's seasonal offerings as well.
Home cooks can choose between a Turkey and Sides Box for $159, which feeds 8 to 10 people, or the Beef Tenderloin and Sides Box (which I had the pleasure of trying) for $129, which purports to feed 6 to 8 people, but in my experience, probably feeds at least 10.
Ah, beef tenderloin. Easy to make, somewhat easy to mess up, but with HelloFresh, easy to please a large party. Like all HelloFresh boxes, the requisite ingredients for your holiday box will arrive well-packaged and on ice, with the proteins toward the bottom (and boy, are there a lot of proteins in this box) and the fresh vegetables and such near the top. Be warned - with such an extensive amount of ingredients, this is a hefty box.
Upon unwrapping your box full of delectable goodies, you'll find several servings of beef tenderloin in the form of two large filets (which you'll then subdivide as you see fit), which you'll then glaze with a rather delightful cherry balsamic sauce, as well as everything you need to pull together a veritable cornucopia of side dishes. Both the turkey and the beef come with a variety of supporting cast members, some of which I found to be particularly useful as appetizers, and others that worked well alongside the main meal.
HelloFreshHere's a look at everything that comes in the 'Beef Tenderloin and Sides Box' for $129.
For starters, there's the Rosemary Brie Crostini, which was shockingly easy to throw together, and easy to replicate as well (you won't have to tell all your salivating dinner guests that you got this recipe out of a box). Then, there's the Roasted Brussels Sprouts, made all the more delicious with the addition of candied bacon. Also included are Truffle Mashed Potatoes, made truffle-y with a wonderful little vial of truffle oil (which I saved for future use as well) and, as one might imagine, an alarming amount of herbed butter. And finally, there are Roasted Stemmed Carrots, which are as aesthetically pleasing as they are delicious. There's something decidedly satisfying about a pop of bright orange on the table in the midst of various shades of beige and brown.
If you opt for the Turkey box, you'll be greeted by two additional sides upon the opening of your holiday box - there's the Warm Cranberry Apple Compote, obviously crucial for any turkey dinner; and Turkey Jus, which is less of a side and more of a byproduct of your turkey-roasting process.
HelloFreshHere's a look at everything that comes in the 'Turkey and Sides Box' for $159.
Regardless of which box you choose, one of my favorite aspects of the offering isn't in the food itself, but in the thoughtful non-edible extras that come with the meal kit. Of course, there's the recipe booklet, which contains all the instructions you need in order to complete a show-stopping dinner, but the way in which the recipe booklet is assembled is worth noting. Rather than being delivered to you as a bound book, these recipes instead come as little tear-away cards, which means that they're easy to keep and tuck away with your existing box of recipes. Plus, the cards come with tips and tricks that will make preparing a feast relatively fail-proof.
But my favorite part of the kit just might be the HelloFresh place cards. If you're looking for an easy way to elevate your holiday dinner, this may just be the easiest way to go - tell your guests exactly where they ought to go with these cute little name plates that are as functional as they are festive. Rather than having the same people sit next to the same people dinner after dinner, you can use these placards to mix things up a bit. And as a gift, you can send your guests home with the HelloFresh coupons that come on the back of each place card.