This makes very good, classic french toast. Due to my husband's food allergy, I made a gluten-free version using gluten-free bread ("Udies" brand) & gluten-free flour ("Bob's Red Mill" brand) and it turned out just fine. I do believe that your results will vary depending on what type of bread you use. I used whole grain bread (gluten-free) and it wasn't as fluffy as I would imagine it would've been had I used a wheat-based bread -- I think a brioche would be wonderful & I will try that in the future (and will edit this review to reflect that). I also reduced the sugar slightly, as it was plenty sweet when served with syrup. With that said, it was still delicious as a gluten-free french toast and we were very pleased with the results. I will keep this in my family recipe binder as my go-to french toast.

Reviewed On: Dec. 25, 2012

These dumplings were delicious and had a good balance of flavor and texture. I used ground chicken instead of pork and it still turned out very good. I also halved each shrimp lengthwise, since a whole shrimp was too large to be able to seal the wrappers easily (you'll only need to buy 1/2 the amount of shrimp if you do this). I steamed the dumplings in a bamboo steamer for 10 minutes, then pan fried one side for some crunch. Next time, I will steam for only 5 minutes (they were over-cooked at 10 minutes, although still very tasty). If using a bamboo steamer, make sure to place dumplings on cabbage leaves or parchment paper to prevent sticking (just make sure there's enough space around each for the steam to circulate; or poke holes in the cabbage/parchment)\ so steam can pass through). I chopped the water chestnuts small, but also chopped a few in larger bits... it makes for a nice surprise crunch here and there. What took these dumplings to the next level was serving them with dipping sauces. I was happy to finally use up our collection of sauce packets saved from Chinese take-outs; basically a combination of soy sauce, vinegar, spicy chili oil, citrus & ginger will do. We found the best sauce was the "Potsticker Sauce" from Panda Express. Next time I visit, I will stock up on those packets! This is a great recipe that would take well to ingredient substitutions/additions. You can swap the watercress for any other leafy green vegetable.

Reviewed On: Mar. 20, 2012

This is a lighter, fluffier, airier cream cheese frosting. Actually, I would categorize this as more of a whipped cream topping, with cream cheese flavor. The consistency was very soft and fluffy. I'm not sure it would hold up well as a filling between cake layers (I imagine it would collapse under the weight). The whipped cream should be reduced if you are going to pipe or fill a cake. I would like to note that I used less sugar, and slightly softened cream cheese (although the directions did not state to use softened cream cheese). This may have affected my results. The flavor was very good. It was great on chocolate cupcakes & a nice, lighter alternative to heavy chocolate frosting. Please note that this is not that thick, classic cream cheese frosting typically used on carrot cake.

Reviewed On: Apr. 4, 2011