Upside-Down Biscuit Recipes

These are good for breakfast or a quick treat anytime. The trick is, after baking (and cooling a little), cover the pan with an upside-down plate and flip the whole thing over. Now the pan is upside-down, the plate is right-side up, the biscuits are upside-down and the topping is right-side up. OK? Just wanted to be sure that's clear.

Recipe #1

Recipe #2

Recipe #3
You could add a few Maraschino cherries (cut in half) to make this more like Pineapple Upside-Down Cake.

Sandwiches - Classic Oldies From the 1940s & '50s

These were famous when Grampy and I were children, but sadly, we never ate either one.

A hot, filling snack made by a mother with more love than money to give to her growing boy.


In the old days, bus travel all over the country was available and economical. Many bus stations had a lunch counter where passengers waiting for a connecting bus could eat old-time "fast food". Along with grilled hot dogs and hamburgers was this tasty sandwich that was hot, filling and cheap.

As you see from the above, explaining a recipe takes a lot longer than demonstrating it. This one-person skit I found on the Internet really shows the difference!

How to Make a Sandwich
Ready for Lunch? Good! Let's begin! We're going to start by assuming that you already have each of the items you'll need to make this sandwich. So the first thing you're gonna need is a place to make your sandwich. My suggestion would be a plate. So reach into your cupboard and grab a plate. Any will do. No, that's a bowl. Plates are flat. Right, yes, that's flat, but it's a cutting board. Plates are going to be round. Yes, the bowl is round, but it's not flat, is it? Forget it. Grab the cutting board. Perfect. Put it down. On the counter, not the floor. Much better.

All right, you're ready to start. You need bread. I like wheat or sourdough, but you might prefer white, rye, pumpernickel, a French roll... you're just staring at me. What do you mean you don't have any bread like that? Like what? What kind of bread do you have? Wonder Bread. Fine, it's pre-sliced. Take out two slices of Wonder Bread. Two. More than one, less than three. That's three. Put one back. Perfect. Put two slices of Wonder Bread on your cutting board. See how easy this is?

OK, you need some sandwich ingredients, open your refrigerator. Your refrigerator. Big thing in your kitchen. Cold. Stores food. That's the one. Take out cheese, bologna, mayo... you're giving me that look again. Let's stop there. Cheese, bologna and mayo. Mayonnaise. It's a sandwich spread. White. No, that's Miracle Whip. Yes, it's a white sandwich spread but... fine. Miracle Whip will do. Put it on the counter next to the bread. OK. Now we... where's the cheese and baloney? Didn't I just say... Go back to the refrigerator and... no, leave the Miracle Whip where it is, just go back to the fridge and open it. Good. Grab the cheese. Any kind will do. Just pick one! How about cheddar, do you have cheddar? Yes! Bring it to the counter next to the cutting board. Now go back to the fridge. I'm sorry, are you getting dizzy? It can happen, get used to it.

Open the fridge again. You're looking for baloney. Please let it be pre-sliced. Baloney. It's meat. You're looking for a package filled with slices of cooked meat. That's bacon. It's raw. Yes! That's the baloney! Very good! Now bring that over to the counter. No, we're done with the fridge.

OK, now you're ready to start making a baloney and cheese sandwich. Open the Miracle Whip. Open it. Twist the lid off of the jar. What do you mean it won't come off? Twist it in the other direction. There ya go! Now you need a knife. You don't need a sharp knife, you just need a spreading knife. Dull. Very dull. The duller the better. No! Not that! Put that down before you hurt someone! Find a knife without a wooden handle. No, that has a wooden handle doesn't it? That probably means it's sharp. Don't test it to see! Just put it down! Find a dull, regular, boring knife! OK. Perfect. That's a nice simple spreading knife. Dip it into the Miracle Whip. Now lift it out of the Miracle Whip and spread it on the slices of bread. Carefully. Not too hard, you'll tear the bread. Harder than that. The knife has to at least touch the bread. There ya go. Now do the other slice of bread. Perfect! You're a regular Julia Child now! She's a famous cook... never mind.

Now you are going to put a slice of baloney on one piece of bread. Open the package. No, this package doesn't screw open. Just pull the back end away from the rest of the package. See how it's opening up? Excellent. Take out a slice of baloney. Put it on one of the slices of bread. No, you don't need the knife for this.

Good! You're almost there! Now it's time for the cheese. The cheese is unopened? OK, don't panic. Take the dull knife... the other end, grab the other end of the knife! Slice the package of cheese open. Just jam it in there and.. don't worry about hurting the cheese! Just slice the darn thing open! Very good. Now take the block of cheese out and lay it on the cutting board. OK. Again with the knife, cut a few slices of cheese. Thinner than that, you want more than two slices out of your block. Thinner. Thinner. Thinner! Just... measure with your pinky! Your pinky should be at least two slices thick. What are you... DON'T SLICE YOUR PINKY!!!

You know what? Forget it! Put the cheese down. You're just having a baloney sandwich today. Now pick up one slice of bread and put it down on the other. Miracle Whip-side down. Well turn it over, you can't eat it with the Miracle Whip side facing out! Because I said so!!! OK. Pick up the sandwich. Congratulations! You made a baloney sandwich!

"Impossible" Cookies And Some Basic Utensils

This recipe must have been developed by someone allergic to wheat, but not to eggs or peanuts.

Here is the cooking equipment we used for this recipe. The jelly roll pan makes a great cookie sheet, and although I've never made a jelly roll, having sides on the pan helps keep cookies, biscuits, rolls, etc. from sliding off when being taken from the oven. It's also easier to grab with oven mitts than a flat cookie sheet. It also comes in a larger size, about 11x18".
The cooling rack is good to put hot cookies on so you can quickly reuse the pan, or a hot pan can be set on it to cool. The cookie scoop is very inexpensive, and really speeds up a recipe that says to roll the dough into balls.

Some Basic Cooking Equipment

Baking pan, dry-measuring cups
A 9x13 inch baking pan is a standard size for many recipes. A glass Pyrex (or other brand) baking dish is also useful in this size for casseroles and other wet food. Don't soak metal pans for very long.
The set of measuring cups is used mainly for dry ingredients. After filling, use the back of a table knife to level the top, scraping the extra flour, sugar, etc, back into its container. The exception is brown sugar, which is always measured packed down in the cup.

Oven mitts, mixing bowl, spoon, liquid-measuring cup
A pair of oven mitts are best as they cover your whole hand and wrist. Try not to stick the thumb in the hot food as you are lifting it out of the oven. It's not good for the mitt, your thumb or the food.

A large mixing bowl is used for nearly everything. Spread a damp paper towel on the counter to set the bowl on so it won't slide while you're beating the ingredients.
A strong plastic mixing spoon is basic. See if you can get one that can also be used to stir hot food when cooking on the stovetop. In the 'olden days' of our childhoods (before plastic was invented) there were only wooden spoons. They are still sold today, but can't be soaked very long or put in the dishwasher.

A one-cup size plastic measuring cup with a handle and a pouring spout is used for measuring liquids. It has measurement markings on the side. Set it on the counter to keep it level and bend over to see as you pour. Be sure you are using the ounce marks, as most have metric markings on one of the sides.

Spatulas
Spatulas are for scraping bowls and pans, and for folding (gently stirring a delicate ingredient containing air, like beaten egg whites or whipped cream, into the rest of the already-mixed ingredients. The spatula is held sideways, combining the items with a gentle up, down and around motion). The small spatula is for scraping out narrow jars, like peanut butter, or cans, like tomato sauce or condensed soup.

The blue spatulas are Wilton (the cake decorating brand), made of silicone, and heat resistant up to at least 400 degrees. They can also be used to stir and scrape hot food on the stove. They are a little more expensive, but Jo-Ann Craft Stores sells them in a 3-pack. If you sign up at joann.com they will periodically email you a 50% off coupon good for anything in the store not on sale. It's worth it if you have a Jo-Ann's near you. Almost as good as shopping at Spatula City in the movie 'UHF'.

The white spatulas are the basic rubbery kind. Don't use them to scrape down the sides of a bowl with an electric mixer running, or you'll have bits of chewed-up rubber all through the batter.

Easy As Pie!

Sometimes ingredients can be as expensive as buying a ready-made item. This is true with today's recipes, but they are easy to make, unique, taste great, and most important, look impressive to your guests!

This made too much filling for 1 pie crust (use 2 if you make it), and looks plain. Decorating (called garnishing) with fruit or berries will make it more attractive. Drained pineapple chunks, peach slices, fresh strawberries cut in half and/or blueberries add color.

So for the next recipe, we filled 2 crusts. Garnish this also with other fresh or drained canned fruit. It would be good with just 1 cup pineapple (instead of the whole can) and 1 cup blueberries, or drained mandarin oranges, sliced peaches or fruit cocktail.

This is also a very pretty shade of pink.

Now You're Baking! Cake Mixes - Just Add Fruit

Now that we're going to use the oven, here are some baking rules:

Always heat the oven to the baking temperature in the recipe BEFORE putting any food in. This is called preheating. As one commenter reminded me, always look in the oven to make sure it's empty BEFORE turning it on to preheat! It makes waaay too handy a storage place for extra pans, food, even dishes. Once it was an Easter egg hiding place for a candy-filled plastic egg that was found, not by the children, but when the oven was turned on!

Always use pot holders or oven mitts.

Using a mitt, pull the oven rack partially out, set the pan on it to bake, then gently slide the rack back into the oven.

Don't reach into the oven for the pan when the food is done. Pull the rack out part way before lifting the hot food out.

Know where you're going to set the hot pan before you take it out of the oven. Have a rack or a hot pad or oven mitt lying on the counter next to the stove to put it on. Don't carry a hot pan across the kitchen until it has cooled some.

Always set a timer right after you close the oven door. The best kind beeps for a whole minute instead of just one 'ding'. Set it for the shortest time given in the recipe and check for doneness.
If you have to leave the kitchen, stay nearby or take the timer with you. The smoke alarm is not a good timer!

An amazing 2-ingredient cake.

Click photo to enlarge recipe)

This tastes like regular angel cake to us, with just the tiniest hint of pineapple.

We also tried a recipe with an angel food cake mix and a can of lemon pie filling, but we both decided it tasted like Lemon Pledge spray wax. Maybe it was the brand of filling we used. You can try it if you like a *really* strong lemon taste!

Now for two 3-ingredient recipes!

Grampy says this is the best chocolate cake he's eaten since his Aunt Margaret's, during his boyhood summer visits to his Uncle Ashley's farm in West Paris, Maine.

(click to enlarge)

The cherry color couldn't be seen in a chocolate cake, but white cake turns pink and tastes great.

(Click on the photo to read the recipe better)

The little white flecks are part of the cake mix. They wouldn't show up if the cake was white.

This is such a pretty color.

Hot Diggety Dogs! More Playing With Your Food

Here are the rest of the fun-with-frankfurters recipes. Remember to click on each photo to enlarge the print of the recipe. Snakey can be served on a hot dog bun or a plate.


Hot dogs on a hamburg bun? Will wonders never cease. These worms look waay too realistic!


Hot dogs in a hamburger bun again! Sort of a meal-on-a-bun. Spread open the ends of the hot dog a little, and put it nearer the edge to fit more beans in the circle. Use thicker beans like B & M or other New England style, (Bush's and others have thin juice) or use a slotted spoon to scoop them. Can also put a slice of cheese on top or underneath.

Welcome Family & All Beginners To Cooking 101

Meet our mascot, "Franky the Octopus"

(click on all photos to enlarge)

He's what this blog is all about - a simple recipe (one ingredient), easy to cook (very little preparation), hardly any clean-up (eaten with hands as-is or on a bun). He's also the reason we considered calling this blog 'Playing With Your Food' or 'Now You're Cooking?'

Our ground rules for this blog:

I find the recipes and print them, Grampy chooses what to make. He has over 100 pages to choose from, mostly in categories like Main Dishes (hot dogs, hamburg, tuna, pasta, etc), Snacks (includes party and company food), and Desserts (his favorite).

I can explain and answer questions, but I don't demonstrate. We wanted to try recipes using a real live novice cook, alone in the kitchen. Anyway, it's better if I don't watch, as I feel sort of maternal toward some of the utensils, pans, etc. that were mine alone for so many years.

Grampy takes the food photos and writes the final version of the recipe on them.

We both taste-test the results. I'm sort of fussy, he never met a food he didn't like.

I compose the blog entry, and we both edit before posting.

We try to reach a balance between pre-prepared convenience foods (faster, but costs more) and basic ingredients (costs less, but takes more time, utensils and clean-up).

Your basic rules:
Set out everything you need for the whole recipe

Wash your hands

Put each item away, or at least away from the cooking area as you use it

Have paper towels handy for wiping hands or spills

Rinse all utensils as you go, or as soon as possible

Have a dishpan (or any large pan or bowl) full of hot soapy water in the sink to put utensils, measuring cups and/or spoons in as you go along. The exception to this is any cup, bowl or spoon used with raw eggs. These need to be well rinsed with COLD water first, so as not to set the egg and make it hard to get off when cleaning.

We will be adding to these as needed as we go along. Each rule has been learned by cooking experience. "Experience" has been defined as recognizing a mistake when you make it again.

Instructions for Microsoft's TV Dinner:
[In reply to all the publicity Apple has just gotten on its release of the IPad on Saturday, it's only fair to give Microsoft a turn.]

You must first remove the plastic cover. By doing so you agree to accept and honor Microsoft rights to all TV dinners. You may not give anyone else a bite of your dinner (that would constitute an infringement of Microsoft's rights). You may, however, let others smell and look at your dinner and are encouraged to tell them how good it is.

If you have a PC microwave, insert the dinner. Set the oven using these keystrokes: \mstv.dinn.//10.5min@@50%heat// Then enter: ms//start.cook_dindin/yummy\|/yum~yum:-)gohot#cookme. If you have a Mac oven, insert the dinner and press start. The oven will set itself and cook the dinner. If you have a Unix oven, insert the dinner, enter the ingredients (found on the package label), the weight of the dinner, the desired level of cooking, and press start. The oven will calculate the time and heat and cook the dinner exactly to your specification.

Be forewarned that Microsoft dinners may crash, in which case your oven must be restarted. This is a simple procedure. Remove the dinner and enter ms.nodarn.good/tryagain\again/again.darn. This process may have to be repeated. Try unplugging the microwave, then doing a cold reboot. If this doesn't work, contact your hardware vendor. Many users have reported that the dinner tray is far too big, larger than the dinner itself, having many useless compartments, most of which are empty. These are for future menu items. If the tray is too large to fit in your oven you will need to upgrade your equipment.

Dinners are only available from registered outlets, and only the chicken variety is currently produced. If you want another variety, call Microsoft Help and they will explain that you really don't want another variety. Microsoft Chicken is all you really need. Microsoft has disclosed plans to discontinue all smaller versions of their chicken dinners. Future releases will only be in the larger family size. Excess chicken may be stored for future use, but must be saved only in Microsoft approved packaging. Microsoft promises a dessert with every dinner after '08. However, that version has yet to be released. Users have permission to get thrilled in advance. Microsoft dinners may be incompatible with other dinners in the freezer, causing your freezer to self-defrost. This is a feature, not a bug. Your freezer probably needed defrosting anyway.