Adventures in Bread Making

This weekend was a lot of time spent in the kitchen! For my birthday a few weeks ago my sister bought me a bread machine. I have been so excited to use it and always forget one or two things at the store. Finally on Friday I got the last ingredient and was able to bust out my new toy on Saturday morning. After reading through my bread cookbook I was pretty worried about how my first loaf would turn out. The authors kept emphasizing how bread making was all trial and error and even the slightest mis-measurement can ruin your loaf. I made sure to triple check that all my measurements were exact and hovered over the machine for most of the three hour process to see how things were going. To my pleasure, the first loaf was a success!!! It was so delicious - no need for butter or jam. I can not wait to make a sandwich (or better yet, french toast) with some of this stuff.

Because all the precise measuring is a little tedious, I decided to pre-measure the dry ingredients for my next few loaves. This way, all I have to do is add water, butter, and yeast. 

Next weekend I am going to venture outside the white bread box and try some more adventurous recipes. Right now I'm thinking cinnamon raisin and cheddar jalapeno. We'll see. 

Sunday was an exciting day because one of my best friends Melanie had her first appointment to try on wedding dresses. She's having a rustic-chic barn wedding in November and I am so excited and lucky to be one of her 7 bridesmaids. We started the search at Leesburg Bridal and Mel (and the rest of us) fell in love with the very first dress she put on. She has a few more appointments at other places - but unless something else can top the elegant simplicity of dress #1, it looks like she's found her dress! Her color scheme is dark red and champagne, and both the bride and groom are huge Redskins fans so I couldn't resist this small engagement gift: 

I had these custom made by a seller on Etsy (aka - the greatest website to ever exist.)

After her appointment it was back home to the kitchen. I finally got the chance to make my Chicken Lettuce Wraps as my Dad and Patti were having us over for a Dim Sum feast and I volunteered to bring an appetizer. After an unhealthy amount of shrimp dumplings, spring rolls, and pork buns, we had to roll ourselves home to get ready for another long week. I leave you with this picture of Jack and his new tooth after bath time! Hope you all have a great week! (oh yeah... and happy Valentines Day!!!!)