Chicken spiedini is very much a source of Kansas City pride. Those radio ads featuring Kansas City’s Garozzo’s Italian Restaurant which were always running during halftime of Chiefs games were an enormous source of fascination to me and my friends. The husky voice of Michael Garozzo telling his audience about the latest entrees and the more popular menu items felt utterly authentic and unique.

Garozzo’s chicken spiedini is the cornerstone of their menu. I know it is my favorite item! The following recipe is a close approximation of it.

The greatest challenge to this recipe is the preparation, but don’t let that intimidate you. The boneless, skinless chicken breasts will need to be pounded thin. This I find can be a chore. One of the things I do to help ease the noisy, messy, laborious hassle of pounding the breasts thin is to take a very sharp chef’s knife and split the chicken breasts through the middle, parallel to the cutting surface. That means were are slicing the breasts’ thickness into two equal halves. It can be slow because you don’t want to cut yourself but I can’t stand trying to pound a full breast into the thinness required for this recipe.

Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1/3 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 T of chopped fresh parsley
2 t grated lemon zest
2 cloves of minced garlic
2 T olive oil
2 T butter

Preparation:

1. Place chicken breasts between sheets of plastic wrap, pound chicken gently with mallet until very thin (about 1/8 inch thick.) see instructions
2. On waxed paper, combine bread crumbs, cheese, parsley. lemon zest and garlic.
3. In shallow dish, combine olive oil and melted butter
4. Dip chicken into butter mixture, coat with crumb mixture.
5. Tightly roll up and secure with wooden toothpicks, if needed.
6. Cut into 1-inch-thick pieces, thread onto metal skewer
7. Remove wooden picks
8. Repeat with remaining chicken
9. To Grill; place skewers on lightly grilled gird over medium hot coals
10. Cover and grill for five minutes per side or until chicken is cooked through.

Enjoy!

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These two lovebirds, Kelsey and Ross, held their ceremony at Roeland Park United Methodist Church last month. This is a small church nestled in a neighborhood near Roe Avenue. We really loved the sanctuary and it’s volumes of gorgeous light.

There are a few churches in Kansas City that can get a little carried away with their rules and restrictions they place on the couple and the photographer but this church’s salt of the earth style suited the couple their photographer, perfectly!

A lot of couples that will tell us their photography is very important to them, but in truth it often isn’t. That’s o.k. We don’t begrudge anyone for wanting the nice, long international honeymoon, or have 500 guests attend their reception. It’s all about YOUR priorities. For Kelsey and Ross, the most important thing about their wedding was photography.

I could tell these two and their wedding were going to be fun. I can’t tell you why… there’s just a certain feeling you get when you are working on the preparations with a couple that lets you know if they are a “party couple” or a “celebration couple.” Does that make sense? Sure enough, the couple held their reception at The Knights of Columbus in Shawnee.

I think I may have saw a battle of the bands there about 24 years ago, but that is a different story. Although I didn’t wear any… there was lots of spandex and hair spray there that night. I was a denim guy.

Enjoy the photographs!

Chris

The father of the bride has delivered his daughter to her future husband and steps away. We love this moment at every wedding, every single time.

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Unfortunately as complicated as weddings are there is a very good chance there will be an unexpected glitch at your wedding. Our clients can rest easy. We bring this tackle box to each of our weddings and it features a slew of essential items for your wedding day you may forget, misplace or just plain not know you will need.

Glow Imagery is different from the other Kansas City wedding photographers in a great many ways. One of the most important things that separates us from the other photographers in the area is we believe the experience of working with us is as important as the photography itself. Your photographer should add to the enjoyment of your wedding day, not take away from it. For this reason we bring a wedding day emergency kit to each of our weddings.

We’ve been to a lot of weddings over the years and have seen too many times a seam bust, a finger cut, dress stained or a vicious headache and watch bride, bridesmaids and a few grooms stress out over the unexpected event without an easy remedy. The hours before walking down the aisle are stressful enough without such additional burdens.

Our emergency kit includes:

1. two razors
2. bandages
3. q-tips
4. emery board and clippers
5. bug spray
6. scissors, thread and needle
7. mints
8. dental floss
9. mouthwash
10. safety pins
11. bobby pins
12. earring backs
13. static guard
14. tape (double sided)
15. tampons and pads
16. advil
17. wet wipes
18. antacids
19. deodorant
20. and much more

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Sometimes you just don’t want to stop working with some people. This is so true of Kim and Todd. This pair has their book smarts being doctors and all. Todd works on the human kind and Kim is a veterinarian. This pair are University of Missouri grads, so it wasn’t hard at all for us to feel at home with them. They are super people. You can’t help but smile watching these two in one another’s arms.

Sometimes I feel for parents during all this wedding planning business. It’s not easy on them either. This is particularly true if you have three daughters who all decide to get married in a period of nine months! This was the case for Teresa and Greg, the parents of the bride.

It’s important to note that even though I have been photographing weddings for 11 years now, I am happy to say I still find ways to do it better and offer our clients something better. What did I learn from Kim and Todd’s wedding? During the getting ready portions of the wedding, Kim and her mom were battling with an uncooperative zipper on her dress. The ensuing trouble shooting was no major emergency (I felt it looked fine without any repairs) but with some quick thinking Teresa found the solution.

It was in the middle of this low-grade emergency the idea dawned on me that as many weddings as I participate in, that brides should be able to benefit from that experience beyond just photography should the need arise. A few days after this wedding, my wife and I headed to Target and loaded up on an emergency wedding day kit and packed all the items into a tackle box. For each wedding going forward we will have this tackle box loaded in our car ready to assist in the even of a bridal emergency.

We know you have thousands of choices among Kansas City photographers, but how many of photographers are going to come to your wedding with a wedding day disaster response kit? Not many.

I think there should be a blog post about that kit… hmmmm.

Anyway, Drumm Farm was a beautiful spread for Todd and Kim. Kate Rohan, a long-time friend of ours from her days at Hillcrest Country Club is the event coordinator at Drumm Farm these days. We love working with her!

Enjoy the photographs!

The father of the bride has delivered his daughter to her future husband and steps away. We love this moment at every wedding, every single time.

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Boy I’m worn out. I slept a good long time last night after coming home from this wonderful, romantic wedding that took place in Smithville, Mo., with a wedding reception at Tiffany Greens Golf Club yesterday. What a great time!

One of the best parts of this wedding was something Rhonda and I did in May with the help of the couple’s mothers, Judy and Barbara. We did a bridal portrait session at Tiffany Greens and later used the images as part of a Parents Pride for her dad. Those of you who have seen our Parents Pride know how amazing these little gifts are for a parent.

Rhonda gave the Parents Pride to her dad the night before the wedding. Dang it! I love it when I get to see a dad’s expression the first time he sees his daughter as a beautiful bride and reads the message. But I didn’t get to because Rhonda felt it was going to be too emotional for the them on the wedding day. The pair have been extremely close throughout Rhonda’s life so the Parents Pride as a gift was the perfect gift for dad.

I reminded her there is waterproof mascara on the market, but that wasn’t going to persuade her to present the gift to her dad on the wedding day. Bummer!

According to all the witnesses the tears flowed after presenting the Parents Pride to her dad at the rehearsal dinner. During the entire wedding day yesterday I never saw the father of the bride with anything other than a smile on his face. That was a happy dad!

Congrats Rhonda and Jeff!!

Rhonda arrives with her nephew at Good Sheppard Catholic Church in Smithville, Mo. So often we see brides at their most vulnerable during those hours before the ceremony. Not true for Rhonda. She smiled, laughed, joked and made sure to enjoy the experience. This easier than said than done for most brides but it makes all the difference when you can relax, breathe and live in the moment on your wedding day! Way to go Rhonda!

Taylor, Rhonda's niece, was a bundle of energy and enthusiasm throughout the wedding day. We take a lot of pride in being able to work with all the different kinds of personalities children may have. It's all about patience. Taylor and her cousin Bristol rocked the flowergirl walk during the ceremony. Great work girls!

Wasn't Bristol a cutie?

We love a simple, classic portrait like this. But one of the many ways we are different from your typical Kansas City wedding photographer studio is we deliver to our clients beautiful portraits as well as beautiful images from the genuine, un-posed moments and the unprompted expressions of emotion and love of your wedding day. Most photographers are content to create a bunch of portraits and some up-close images of your rings and shoes and a bunch of generic snapshots from the rest of the day. We do not do this. We believe in creating a complete visual story of the spontaneous emotions, tears and romance from your entire day.

Rhonda's father smiles as he watches the ceremony yesterday. Ron smiled a ton during his daughter's wedding day. I hope someday I can be father to a duaghter just to experience what I know Ron did yesterday during his daughter's wedding. Congrats Ron!

This image was made from the bottom of a hill at Tiffany Greens Golf Club. We love covering weddings at this location... what a beautiful place!

I love the elevated vistas and tall grasses of Tiffany Greens. This place is exceptional.

It was a soupy and warm day to be outside in a tux and wedding dress but these two were the portrait of contentment. We love our couples!

We always love making photography for our couples that shows how they feel for one another. The first dance is always a great time to capture the romance you share!

Let the good times roll! Thank you so much Rhonda and Jeff for such an awesome time. Couples like you remind me that I have the best job in the world!

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We just completed the first draft of Diane and Jon’s wedding album. Their wedding was April 16 and it was terrific!

We’ve all heard the horror stories about friends and family having to wait months and months, sometimes even years to see their wedding albums. Our photography studio is not one of those! Glow Imagery will have your first draft of your volume ready for viewing within two weeks of your wedding day. We are one of the only studios in Kansas City to offer such fast turnaround of wedding volumes.

Enjoy!

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This one is my all-time favorite salmon preparation for the grill. Freaking Delicious.

You can prepare this recipe without using the mesquite chips and it will be a very good dish but the mesquite gives it some kind of zing that is really, really great!

A word of caution: unlike fillets, salmon steaks are going to have pin bones in the fish so go a little bit more carefully when chewing and swallowing. If steaks don’t appeal to you, you can always use fillets for this recipe. I like being able to flip the fish midway through the grilling process, that allows for better smoke penetration and a more even grilling of the meat than is possible with fillets.

Rather than true barbecue which is done with low heat over a significant amount of time, seafood requires high, direct heat with short cooking times. I like to use tin foil packets punched with holes to encase the wood chips. I sometimes toss it under the grate or just leave it on top of the grill and the littel guys begin smoking and creating that extra delicious flavor.

Note: the photograph shows the salmon steak served with oven fries. We posted the recipe in an older post.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup olive oil
1 teaspoons of thyme
2 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
1/4 teaspoon of ground red pepper
1 onion chopped
2 salmon steaks

Preparation:

Place the salmon steak in a glass dish and coat with the oil. Mix the spices together in a cereal-sized bowl with the onions and then rub into both sides of the salmon steaks. Place in the refrigerator for one hour.

Preheat a gas grill or charcoal fire. Take a couple of handfuls of mesquite chips (can be purchased in the grilling aisle of most grocery stores) and wrap into a aluminum foil “packet”. Take a sharp instrument and poke many, many holes in the foil packet. Place on the grill or under the grates before placing the salmon on there.

Place the steaks on another sheet of foil greased with some olive oil and place the steaks and foil on the grill. Grill the steaks for 8 to 10 minutes per side. Don’t undercook but don’t overcook. Nothing hurts my feelings more than to see a beautiful piece of salmon cooked tough.

Enjoy!!!

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Soon we will be unveiling our first year baby portraits plan. We’re calling it Giggles by Glow Imagery. Stay tuned! But until then here’s a sneak peak of a recent session we did with Lyra!

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Hmmmmmmmmm...

It’s warming up little by little out there, that means in the Cummins household it is time to uncover the grill, check the propane and start creating more meals! This month’s recipe is a heart healthy combination of grilled catfish and oven fries.

Genevieve is a huge fan of the oven fries. They are every bit as good as the fried version but without the nasty saturated fats. Here’s the recipes:

Oven Fries:

Ingredients:
1. Yukon Gold Potatoes, enough to make about 3 or 4 cups of wedges
2. Olive Oil
3. 1/4 Cup of Parmesan Cheese
4. 1 teaspoon of salt
5. 1 Tablespoon of black pepper

Preparation:
1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2) Cut about three or four cups of yukon gold potatoes into wedges. Sometimes we just make sticks out of them. Whichever you like!
3) Place the cut potatoes in a bowl and liberally coat with olive oil.
4) Pour cheese, salt and pepper onto potatoes. Stir really well to coat and combine the ingredients.
5) Spread wedges onto a large cookie sheet and place in oven for about 40 minutes or until golden brown.
6) Enjoy!

The Grilled Catfish

Ingredients:

1) 2 good size fillets
2) 1 Tablespoon lemon pepper seasoning
3) 1 teaspoon of black pepper
4) Non-stick cooking spray

Preparation:

1) Preheat gas grill or light coals for a direct heat grilling
2) Spray fillets with non-stick cooking spray. This helps keep the fillets from sticking to the grills
3) Sprinkle seasonings on fillets
4) Grill the fillets four minutes on each side over a hot fire. It sometimes helps to use a grilling basket or aluminum foil coated in olive oil otherwise the fillets can still stick to the grill.

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Engagement portraits by Glow Imagery strive to tell the story of you and your relationship.

These kids are all right, Nicole and James that is. This pair are walking the aisle this Summer in Nicole’s hometown of Wichita, Kan.

Our clients know how important it is to us to create images which say something about the couple. There’s only so many engagement portraits done in pretty parks and grungy industrial scenes before it starts to feel like the same old same old and worse… it doesn’t tell us a story of the couple.

We think it much better to take the time with our couples before hand and learn about the two of you! In the case of Nicole and James, James is an aerospace engineer and has a love of flying and planes, Nicole’s own grandfather is a pilot. In fact James proposed to Nicole aboard the very plane we used in the portrait session! How cool is that?

We worked with James and Nicole to help them think about ideas that were more unique to them. This is something we do for all of our couples. When people see your beautiful portraits at your wedding, we want them to say, “Yup! That’s them!”

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