"Fantastic!! I did add 4 strips of finely chopped bacon. I browned this well, and then added the carrot,onion,celery mixture. Also instead of some of the water, I substituted one cup of milk and one cup of beef broth. YUM my nephew said it was "stupid good" ! ""

"Hey mckenziefcs, is that your idea of a review? Under-rating something that you haven't tried and do not intend to? What exactly motivated you to do that? You ruin "ratings and reviews" for serious people who , unlike yourself, have a serious mission to find a good recipe. This is a pretty cocktail. I used eggnog instead of half and half (yum); and used Godiva liquor instead of the B&B. very good and so festive looking

"This cake was sublime. Moist and tender deliciousness. I am a baker, and already have my own great recipe. Well, this was better! Do everything that the recipe tells you to do. Change nothing. It is perfect as is! Also I had made some brown sugar, bourbon chantilly cream instead of the glaze. (usually a crowd pleaser in my house) I noticed almost everyone ate almost half of their piece before they remembered the cream! That's how good this cake is.

"Excellent as usual. I am most likely to make a "Contessa recipe" above all others. However, because of this, I know one thing: NEVER FOLLOW THE RECIPE FOR LEMON AND ORANGE ZEST OR JUICE. Ina always adds way more than I would ever like, so I always proceed with caution! But very very good recipe.

"Execellent as usual. I am most likely to make a "Contessa recipe" above all others. However, because of this, I know one thing: NEVER FOLLOW THE RECIPE FOR LEMON AND ORANGE ZEST OR JUICE. Ina always adds way more than I would ever like, so I always proceed with caution! But very very good recipe.