This roast beef was very good. I used a nice cut of meat with a bit of fat in it (a must for really tender roast beef) and I couldn't be happier with the juiciness and texture of the meat. As far as flavor, this roast wasn't the best I've ever had, but it is definitely a keeper. I prefer to have vegetables like onions, celery, carrots and potatoes in with my roast, but I'm not sure the mushroom gravy really goes with that. I did put in frozen peas/pearl onions in the gravy for the last two hours of cooking time, so that added some zip to it. When I make this again, I will also add some pepper and garlic - there was no seasoning at all on this roast. While very good, I guess my overall impression of this roast is that it's just...well, to be blunt, boring. I'll have to jazz it up next time to make it like I really want it. But this is a very good base recipe.

Reviewed On: Jan. 2, 2002

Ever since I started making bread by hand, I've tried a lot of recipes. I tried Kristin's honey wheat bread and was very, very impressed at the flavor and texture of the loaves her recipe produces. I love this recipe so much that I looked for more by her, and found the equally good Blue Ribbon White Bread recipe. Now, I use both Kristin's recipes for all my daily loaves. I do recommend using bread flour instead of all-purpose. It works much better for homemade loaves, and greatly improves the bread, especially in texture. Also, I now use melted butter instead of shortening after I fortuitously ran out of Crisco one day and had to substitute. Thanks for both recipes, Kristin!

Reviewed On: Nov. 2, 2001

Ever since I decided to make my own bread by hand instead of buying the mediocre loaves at the grocery store, I've been in search of the perfect white bread recipe. Well, I found it a month or two ago in this. This bread has everything I want in a loaf -- the flavor is there, it really is tender and creamy enough you can eat it plain, and yet it holds together well enough for sandwiches and for scooping up gravies and sauces. You really do get the best of all worlds with this recipe. However, I recommend using a bread flour instead of all-purpose flour. I have found that all homemade loaves really benefit in texture immensley. The only other thing I eventually changed was using melted butter instead of shortening -- one time I had run out of shortening and didn't notice until it was too late, so I had to substitute. The butter tastes very, very good in this loaf! The texture isn't exactly the same, but the difference is very minor and I actually like it better. This is a keeper! Thanks, Kristin.

Reviewed On: Nov. 2, 2001