https://freebitco.in/?r=744899

McDonald's franchisees say all-day breakfast is a nightmare

Click Here

(Reuters)
McDonald's franchisees say the company's all-day breakfast launch has been a nightmare.
The new menu is slowing down service, reducing average ticket costs, and causing chaos in the kitchens, franchisees told Nomura analyst Mark Kalinowski in a new survey.

"In small stores, the problems are vast with people falling over each other and equipment jammed in everywhere," one franchisee wrote in response to the survey.

Another wrote, "All-day breakfast is a non-starter. We are trading customers down from regular menu to lower-priced breakfast items. Not generating new traffic."

A third called it "erratic, distorted, disorganized direction from McDonald's," while nearly a dozen more franchisees complained that it slowed down service and added complexity to the kitchens.

"Customers are abandoning us in droves because we are either too slow, or sub-par quality," one franchisee wrote.

.mcdonald's eggs egg mcmuffin
(YouTube )
Others noted that the all-day breakfast menu is confusing to some customers because it varies regionally. In some states, McDonald's is offering McMuffins on the all-day menu, while in others, only biscuit sandwiches are available.

A few complained that the launch requires extra labor, which is an added cost to franchisees who are already pressed for cash by declining sales and expensive kitchen upgrades.

"Unfortunately, with the current labor pool in our area, we are struggling to have enough people to run the shift, much less add an extra person," one franchisee wrote.

Kalinowski interviewed 29 US franchisees covering about 226 restaurants for the survey. McDonald's has more than 14,000 restaurants in the US.

We reached out to McDonald's for comment and will update when we hear back.

The all-day breakfast menu launched nationally on October 6, following regional tests. It's still too early to tell whether it will be a success, but customers have been begging the chain for years to extend its breakfast hours.

The launch is part of McDonald's efforts to revive business following seven straight quarters of same-store sales declines.

In an email to franchisees, McDonald's US President Mike Andres called the all-day breakfast launch a success.

"The successful launch of All Day Breakfast proves that when we listen to and respond to our customers and align around a great execution plan, we will grow our business and take share," Andres said, according to Bloomberg.

Kobe Bryant Slams ‘Insensitive’ Lamar Odom Comments After Master P Unloads on Lakers Legend

Kobe Bryant has a message for Master P: Enough of the “insensitive” comments about Lamar Odom’s medical crisis.

Bryant posted a statement Thursday afternoon on Twitter, following the hip-hop mogul’s rant that Bryant’s concern about Odom is “phony.”

While Los Angeles Lakers star Bryant didn’t mention Master P by name, it’s pretty obvious who he was talking about.

“When WE feel the need to question the support of others in moments as critical as a life hanging in the balance, then we must question the kind of culture we have created that has led US to such insensitive suspicion,” Bryant tweeted, along with the hashtag #justpray.

The statement came just 12 hours after TMZ posted a video of Master P saying he was “like a mentor” to Odom, and knew that the former Laker wanted to return to the NBA.

“If Kobe was his friend, Kobe like, owned the team. He could’ve got the man back on the team, that’s all he wanted,” Master P said.

“Kobe knows the man was a hell of a player, you can’t take that away from him,” he continued, before saying that Bryant’s visit to the Las Vegas hospital room where Odom clings to life after falling unconscious in a Nevada brothel, was “phony.”

Master P also claimed that Odom was “blackballed” from the NBA over his decision to appear with wife Khloé Kardashian on the E! reality series, “Keeping Up with the Kardashians.”

When the TMZ photographer probed Master P for more details, he said: “I come from the streets, I keep it real.”

Amazing lunch salad

So simple but so good. This is what's in the bowl:

2 leftover chicken drumsticks

1 avocado

Cucumber

Tomato

Small handful edamame beans

Little bit of red onion

1 white nectarine

Balsamic vinegar

Salt



Y U M!

Orange-soy-ginger chicken legs

Oh, these chicken legs were yummy! At least I thought so. The kids.. Well. Not today. But no worries, I don't blame the chicken. I'll totally make it again.



It's simple. Make a marinade from the zest and juice from one orange. Add grated ginger - about a tablespoon. Add two garlic cloves, minced. Add a tablespoon or so of Japanese soy sauce, and about the same amount of neutral oil. And a small splash of sesame oil.



Marinate about one kilo of chicken legs in this, for about an hour. Then bake at 200 degrees for about 30 minutes, turning about half way through.



You're done!

Chocolate orange cake

Sticky chocolate cake is a staple in most households (at least in Sweden), but this one is particularly tasty. I dare say it's the combination between orange zest and vanilla extract that makes this taste so good. Make it at least a few hours in advance, and serve completely cooled - it's better that way. And serve a dollop of cream with it.

As you can see, this was also one of Dante's birthday cakes. Perfect for his little guests and everyone enjoyed it!

As you can see, the photos are far above my usual iphone-level. That's because they're by the super-talented Lisa-Marie Chandler, a superb photographer and a dear friend.

Chocolate orange cake

150 g butter

300 ml sugar

100 ml cocoa powder

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

Zest of one orange

150 ml flour 

Melt the butter. Stir in sugar and cocoa, and the eggs. Add vanilla, salt and orange zest and finally fold in the flour.

Pour into a greased springform tin, and bake at 175°C for about 18-20 minutes. Let cool completely before eating.

Gelato

It's a really warm day today - feels like summer! Perfect time to have a big scoop of gelato for lunch! As always, my very favorite place to go for ice cream in Stockholm is Stikki Nikki. She - Nikki herself - makes the gelato daily, from premium organic ingredients, and the quality is just super. I might ask for a quick behind-the-scenes-tour one day - would that be something you'd want to read?



The flavors vary daily by the way. Today I went for Tin Roof and Walnut. Yum!

And the winner is...

Congratulations to Anna Selander, who's the lucky winner of the Philips pasta maker! (I used random.org to pick a number.)

Philips Pastamaker - giveaway!

At the end of this post - there's a giveaway, so read on!

Philips have recently put out a pasta maker as part of their koncept ”restaurant at home”, meaning you can produce restaurant quality food in the home. This is an extrusion-style pasta maker, and I was really excited to try it since I’d never tried one before. Normal pasta machines – the kinds with a crank – still require you do make a dough, and then spend a lot of time running the dough to the proper thickness, then cutting it. It’s fun but takes a long time, and I find that the pasta often gets pretty sticky and messy. With an extrusion-pasta maker, the pasta is pushed out through different nozzles, to make different shapes. I was given this machine for an honest review, but I happen to love it.

So, to make pasta, you simply add flour to your machine – I used 400 g durum wheat and 100 g regular all-purpose flour. (This is a double batch which made plenty for our family, but you can also make a regular batch which serves 2, generously.) Next, put on the lid and start the machine. Add the liquid – I had two eggs, and enough water to make a total of 190 g.



And that is it. That’s all. The machine kneads the dough, and when it’s firm enough, it’ll start pressing it out through the pasta mold. For our first run, we made spaghetti. You have to cut it as it comes out, which means you can make it super short or as long as you want. The resulting pasta was great! It was firmer and a little drier than the home made pasta I’ve made before, so it didn’t stick at all. It needed a little longer cooking time – about five minutes – but that was fine. My three picky eaters – husband and kids – all loved it.



We tried penne the next time, and again, very successful!  Our third run was plain pasta sheets (which we used to make these) and again - it was so simple. For these, I used less durum wheat and more all-purpose flour, in an attempt to get a slightly softer dough. It was still a little on the dry side, which is a side effect of the durum.  In addition to just pasta, you can also make noodles or even dumpling dough, and you can flavor your pasta as well as long as you keep an eye on the wet-dry proportion. I've even seen someone try to make fresh tortilla chips in the machine - amazing! I *have* to try that next.



Cleaning up is also easy enough. You dissemble all the parts and wash them, and when they’re dry, put them back together. It took me all of three minutes. Which is, incidentally, less time than the pasta needs to cook. I do find the pasta from this machine a little drier than other "fresh pasta", and it needs to cook for a little longer than the pre-made kind. I don't mind this at all, though.

My one and only problem is that I have NO place to store this. It’s a big machine and it’s fairly heavy. I’d love to have it close by but it just really takes a lot of valuable bench space – so you might want to think about that. But other than that, if you love pasta, definitely consider this.

Philips have very generously allowed me to give away one of these machines to one of my readers as well! In order to enter the giveaway, please leave a comment on this post with a recipe for your favorite pasta dish. Don't forget to leave a way to contact you, if you win.  I'll hold a random drawing on Sunday, May 17. (Sweden only, I'm afraid.) 

Pineapple Coconut Cake

Here's a simple and fun cake that I made for one of Dante's birthday parties. It's fairly basic - vanilla, pineapple and a little coconut on top. It's really easy to make, and you could either make a full cake or cupcakes.

Pineapple Coconut Cake 

5-6 pineapple slices - from a can, and save the juice because you need it
3 eggs
200 g sugar
1 tsp cardamom
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp baking powder
100 g butter, melted
270 g all-purpose flour
100 ml buttermilk (Swedish filmjölk works great)
100 ml pineapple juice (from the tin)

Glaze:
1 tbsp vanilla sugar
400 ml confectioner's sugar
40 g melted butter
4-5 tsp pineapple juice (from the tin)

To decorate:
coconut flakes

Cut the pineapple into small bits.

Beat eggs and sugar until very fluffy. Fold in cardamom, vanilla and baking powder, and then butter, flour, buttermilk and pineapple juice.

Pour into a lined baking pan, mine was about 20 by 30 cm and I had enough batter to fill a few muffin cups as well. Bake at 175°C for about 25-30 minutes. Insert a skewer to make sure the cake is cooked.

Stir together all the ingredients for the glaze and add enough pineapple juice to make it spreadable.

When the cake is cooled, spread with the glaze and top with coconut.

Peanut Butter Cookies with Bacon and Dark Chocolate

I could barely believe what I was reading as I encountered this recipe over at Joy the Baker. A peanut butter cookie with chocolate isn't all that unique, but with the addition of bacon? Clever! Unique! And fun. And also, very very tasty. My guests were baffled - they couldn't guess the ingredients, but loved the cookies. 

These are very soft and crumbly, so be careful - make sure they cool completely on the baking sheets or they will mostly likely fall apart. 

As a bonus, these are free from gluten and dairy. Not dietary concerns for me, but for many others.

Peanut Butter Cookies with Bacon and Dark Chocolate
adapted from Joy the Baker
about 40 cookies

340 g peanut butter
200 g sugar (the original uses a mix of white and brown, but I only had white at home)
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda
140 g bacon, cooked to a crisp and coarsely chopped
100 g dark chocolate (I used Lindt 70%)
sugar for coating the cookies

Start by cooking the bacon - I do this in the oven, at 200°C and about ten minutes. Cool completely before chopping.

Combine peanut butter and sugar. Add the egg and baking soda. Fold in bacon and chocolate. Roll into walnut-sized balls (or slightly smaller) and roll in sugar.

Place on lined baking sheets and press down with a fork to make a criss cut pattern. Bake at 175°C for about 10-12 minutes. Cool completely on the sheets before transferring. 

Milk Chocolate Pistachio Cookies

Honestly one of the best cookies I've ever made. The combination of chewy cookie, sweet milk chocolate and crunchy pistachios, accented by flaky sea salt, is sure to be a really big hit.

Milk Chocolate Pistachio Cookies

makes 40 or so

150 g butter, softened

140 g caster sugar

140 g brown sugar

1 egg

2 tsp vanilla sugar (or 1 tsp extract) 

1/2 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

240 g all-purpose flour

100 g milk chocolate, coarsely chopped

50 g chopped up roasted, unsalted pistachios
a few pinches of sea salt

Start by creaming the butter and both types of sugar very, very well. (My butter was, as usual, not softened, so I just creamed it for much longer.) Add the egg and vanilla and beat until mixed. Add the dry ingredients - baking soda, salt and flour - and mix until combined. Finally add the chocolate. 

Shape into four slender logs and place on lined baking sheets.  Press pistachios into the top, and sprinkle with salt. Bake at 175°C for 10-12 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for a minute before cutting them, diagonally, into cookies. Leave to cool completely. 

These freeze very well but lose some of their chewiness. 

Breakfast Parfait

"Mom, are you having DESSERT for BREAKFAST"?!

My kids couldn't believe their eyes, and insisted I'd eat something "real" first. 

Well, it does look luxurious, doesn't it? It's just vanilla yogurt, layered with fresh raspberries, a little granola and some toasted coconut. Very yummy and good for you - for dessert OR for breakfast. 

Kiddie-Pleaser Pasta Rolls

I was at a loss what to do for weekend lunch a few days ago and I was SO bored with the same old options. My kids are fairly picky eaters, at least right now, and what they eat change from day to day. So I wanted to try something new, but I also needed them to eat so I couldn't go too far out. Pasta is almost always popular...

This turned out to be a huge hit. Dante helped me, while Titus played video games (we love the Lego games for Xbox) with his cousin, and they all loved the food.

Plan on two rolls per kid if they're somewhat hungry - and adult might need three, depending on appetite. (And this would of course be nice with a salad on the side.)

Kiddie-Pleaser Pasta Rolls

8 fresh lasagna sheets
100 g cream cheese with herbs
8 slices cooked ham
one small zucchini
handful of corn (frozen, but thawed)
grated parmesan
about 400 ml plain cheese sauce  (or a bechamel if you want to make it from scratch. I was NOT in the mood.)


Slice the zucchini with a mandoline or cheese sliced the long way, to make long slices. Make sure you have at least eight - I cut mine in half to cover most of the pasta sheet, width-wise.

Spread the cream cheese on the lasagna sheets. Top with a slice of ham, one or two zucchini slices, a little sprinkling of corn and finally some parmesan. Roll up tightly and place seam-side down in an oven-proof dish.

Cover with the cheese sauce and any remaining corn or cheese. Bake at 200°C for about 15-20 minutes until the pasta is soft and cooked through.

Cookbook Watch spring 2015 - a big round-up

Here's a massive post with some of the best cookbooks I've encountered lately! Most of them in Swedish, but not all.

Festmat by Anette Rosvall and Emma Hamberg. These ladies have put out a lot of cookbooks in the past and they never cease to inspire and come up with new, fun recipes. Anette blogs, in Swedish, and I often run into her at press events. This latest book is all about parties - "Festmat" means party food. It has quite unusual chapters with anything from soups to barbecue, hungover brunch and "your life with food in bread". Fun and charming, and with personal photos as well as great food pics.



The Perfect Egg is another cookbook by bloggers, in this case by Teri Lyn Fisher and Jenny Park who run Spoon Fork Bacon. I know the blog is brilliant so this immediately made my wishlist. As the name implies, it's all about eggs. Tons of eggs. And as I love eggs.. well, I love this book. It has a wide range of recipes, beautiful food pics and a lot of inspiration. Recommended - unless you happen to be allergic to eggs, in which case I imagine the book would be very frustrating...



Brödet, by Håkan Johansson. Simply called "The Bread", this book holds all sorts of baking recipes. How to start your own sourdough, and when to use it - and when to pass. Simple over night breakfast bread, and elaborate creations - the Cheese and Chili bread caught my eye, as well as Apple Hazelnut bread, and Chanterelle Pizza. There's also a chapter on sweet bread and buns which is no surprise since it's what Håkan Johansson is most well known for.



Bakat från Slottsträdgården Ulriksdal - a cookbook from one of Stockholm's most popular cafés. It's situated in a nursery garden, inside a greenhouse, and it's always absolutely packed with people. They serve delicious vegetarian buffets, and a wide array of sweets, and the latter is what this book is about. Frankly, I was a little bit disappointed in this. I expected creative, new recipes, but the book feels pretty basic. With that said, everything looks great and I've tried a chocolate orange cake that turned out to be amazing - so it's a good book, no doubt about it. I look forward to trying out more of the recipes, too!



Grilla! is the latest book by Mattias Larsson, known as Fredagskocken after a long stint on one of the daily radio shows in Sweden. He's a great guy, and very good at flavor combinations. Grilla means to barbecue, so that's what this book is all about. Sweden is a grill-loving country, and as soon as the temperature is warm enough, everyone starts to cook outdoors. Also, the barbecue cookbooks hit the shelves - we see at least five or more every year. This particular one earns its place on my shelf because it's so creative - there are really tons of good ideas here sure to inspire. What I'm dying to try is the whole-grilled cauliflower with gruyère cheese and gremolata oil.



Buffé is written by bloggers Jennie Benjaminsson and Stina Patetsos who met through the TV-show Masterchef Sweden. They are both really sweet and fun girls, and their cooking is bright, bold and flavorful. Stina is of greek heritage and a lot of recipes in the book show this. In fact, I'm going to try my hand at a Greek-inspired dinner in a few weeks - will report back! If you enjoy having parties and cooking for crowds, this is most definitely a book you don't want to miss!



Till Bords med Systrarna Eisenman is the latest book from the productive sisters, Lisa Eisenman Frisk and Monica Eisenman, who used to own the Cookbook Café in Stockholm. They have since made several books, together and separately, and the focus in this one is great food to enjoy together with your guests, rather than having to spend the whole night slaving away in the kitchen. There are recipes for both summer and winter, and most things take no more than half an hour to cook. Chicken Shawarma is first on my to-try list, followed by a Chèvre Grape Salad with Caramelized Walnuts. Yum.


Sally Voltaire is a trendy chef right now. Her mom is Lotta Voltaire and her aunt is Renée Voltaire, both pioneers in vegetarian and raw food cuisine, and Sally now runs several restaurants and shops of her own. This is her first cookbook, aptly named Sally Voltaires Mat (Sally Voltaire´s Food). Most recipes, but not all, are vegetarian, and with unexpected flavor combinations.



I köket med Markiz - Marockansk Magi, is the first book from Markiz Talhaoui, who also was a participant on Swedish Masterchef a few years ago. She didn't win but she had amazing presence and was one of the judges favorites. Her book is all about the food she grew up with, in a Swedish-Moroccan household. There's different ambition levels - make your own merguez sausage, or just buy some and make a flavorful stew. Dig a fire pit and grill a lamb - or much more approachable, cook some in the oven, but with the same spices and sauce.

Dante, three!

My little darling Dante turned three years old today! He's a delightful mix of big and little right now - it's a wonderful time! Happy birthday!

Sweet Potato Coins with Cardamom Creme Fraiche and Coconut Chicken.

This is a quick and easy side dish and a very delicious one at that. Take a sweet potato or two - ideally longer rather than thicker. Slice it into 5 mm slices. Toss with olive oil and salt, and a touch of cumin if you're like me. Bake in the oven at 200°C for about 7-8 minutes on each side. You do need to flip them, but that's the only slightly bothersome thing about this recipe.

After that, serve. A great dipping sauce is simply crème fraîche with a mango chutney and finely chopped fresh coriander.

Also on the plate - basmati rice cooked in coocnut milk,  and coconut chicken burgers. Here's the recipe for those:

Coconut Chicken burgers
Serves 4

450 g chicken mince
1 egg
50 ml coconut flakes (unsweetened)
3 tbsp cream
salt
1 tsp whole cardamom seeds
butter, for frying

Start by soaking the coconut in the cream for about half an hour.

Grind the cardamom to a fine powder in a pestle and mortar.

Mix the coconut flakes with the chicken mince, cardamom, egg and salt. Shape flattened patties, and fry in a little butter for about 5 minutes on each side.

Pecan Coconut Bars

This was originally a cookie recipe - for Chocolate-Dipped Coconut-Pecan Macaroon Bars - from the awesome book - The Perfect Egg - from Teri Lyn Fischer and Jenny Clark who are the bloggers behind Spoon Fork Bacon.

I was baking with Dante and needed something I could freeze and nibble on when in immediate need of energy, and this recipe seemed to fit the bill perfectly. They can certainly be fancied up and go right ahead and dip these in chocolate if you want to. Or just drizzle some on top. Like dried fruits? Add some! Like more nuts? Go nuts! These bars - or cookies - are forgiving.

The original use oat flour, which I didn't have at hand, so I substituted almond meal which also means these darlings are gluten-free. I use the highest quality organic coconut flakes I can find, because they taste so much better.

Pecan Coconut Bars
Makes 24

125 ml almond meal
400 grams organic coconut flakes (unsweetened is the norm here, but make sure)
100 grams pecan nuts, finely chopped
1 tsp salt
1 can - about 400 g) sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 egg whites

First, set aside about a quarter of the pecans for sprinkling over the bars.

Second, beat the egg whites until frothy.

Next, combine almond meal, coconut, pecans, salt, milk, vanilla and the egg whites. Press into a lined baking pan (mine was 33 * 24 cm which is about 9*13 inches)  and make sure it's pretty even. Sprinkle with remaining pecans and score lightly into 24 squares.

Bake at 175°C until lightly golden, about 20-25 minutes. Remove and let cool completely in the pan before cutting into separate pieces.

These freeze very well.

Butter-Fried Brussel Sprouts with Bacon and Dates

I'm an avid reader and I usually have a book - or three - going on my Kindle app. (I rarely pick up paper books these days - it's just easier to read on my phone.) In a book I recently read, the main character was in New Orleans, and at a restaurant ordered delicious brussel sprouts, cooked in butter, with bacon and chopped dates. Intriguing!

Just after reading that, I came upon lots of bags of gorgeous fresh brussel sprouts at my grocery store. I immediately knew what I had to make for dinner and I googled until I found this recipe.  I adapted it a bit and served it with some steamed cod fillets, and it was every bit as good as I had imagined it. The combination of salty bacon, sweet dates (that are undetectable - I promise. My seriously sceptical husband went for seconds, and thirds!) and the bite of the balsamic vinegar takes away all the bitterness of the sprouts. They're just really yummy. We finished the entire bowl!

Butter-Fried Brussel Sprouts with Bacon and Dates
500 g fresh brussel sprouts
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
100 g bacon, diced
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
5 dates, finely chopped
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
125 ml chicken stock (or vegetable, or just water)
salt

Clean the sprouts. Cut off the woody end and cut them in half. Heat the butter and oil in a very large skillet and once hot, fry the sprouts, cut side down. Let them caramelize. Add some salt.

Turn them over and let them fry for a few more minutes. Push to one end of the pan and add the bacon. Fry until fairly crisp, then add onion, garlic and dates. Fry for a minute or so, then add the balsamic vinegar. After a few more minutes, add the chicken stock and let that reduce so you are left with a thick, sticky glaze.

Season, and serve.

Dinner The other night

Take four pieces of salmon fillet, in an oven proof dish. Mix creme fraiche with crumbled feta cheese, and some finely chopped capers, olives and sundried tomatoes. Spread over the fish and bake. Serve with boiled potatoes and some butter-fried sugar snap peas. Delicious, easy and quick!