Throughout the day, there were so many moments.  These emotion filled moments almost tangible, that you felt like you could almost grab them in your hands when one appeared.  Well I have the honor of that being my job.  I would love to share those moments with all of you.

Friends and family:  Please click here to visit the event website and view all of the images from Sarah and Noah’s wedding

The beautiful flowers were from Tammy at Bloomin Island Flowers.  They made an awesomely colorful backdrop for a few sweet ring shots.

This moment of Sarah felt really special.  You could see the anticipation in her eyes as all of her bridesmaids lent a hand to get the veil just right.

One of my favorites from the day.

A huge shout out to Jeremy Young for shooting this wedding with me!  Having two shooters there on that once in a lifetime day provides the opportunity to capture both of their faces the moment they first see each other.  Noah’s face here tells such a story!

Sarah had her shoes died to match the pink in the bridesmaid’s dresses.  Pink shoes = tons of shoe shots!

This is the winner in my list for the day.  I LOVE this image!  They’re a good lookin’ smoochin’ couple ;)

Ahhh!!!  I was so excited to shoot this image and I was thinking about it the whole day!!!  At their engagement session, we pulled off the pitch-fork image, then did it again on their wedding day (Of course on their wedding day we didn’t have the pitch-fork.  That would have been weird to walk through the hotel lobby with).  In the video slideshow, these two images dissolve perfectly from one to the other!

Super cute!  If you want a bit more of the story behind this image, click here (it’s adorable).

Uhhh, yeah.  If I can get a shot of the bride with a Bud Light in her hand, consider that a winner!  This is Sarah and her brother enjoying some tasty refreshments ;)

Their first dance was to a song called “I like to be with me, when I’m with you” by Drew Holcomb and it is officially one of my new favorite songs!  It’s folky and it’s crazy cute!

Once the dancing got started, the party kicked off in high gear!  Stay tuned for breakdancing awesomeness!!!

BAM!!!  Check this out!  Two of Sarah’s co-workers busted out some insane breakdancing moves!

High five to Jeremy for slipping me into a shot.  I feel like I need to pull a cameo appearance in all my weddings from here on out.  Maybe even sneakier next time, like a Where’s Waldo of wedding photos!

I loved their bookmarks that they had made for their day.  I slipped outside during the craziness and snapped a few late night ring shots.

Thank you for stopping by to view Sarah and Noah’s amazing wedding!  I had so much fun with them and I can tell that they have a very long and happy life ahead of them!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cedar plank
• 1 salmon fillet
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• 6 tablespoons Dijon mustard (approximate)
• 6 tablespoons brown sugar (approximate)

STEP 1)   Soak your cedar board in water for 2 hours!  This recipe goes quickly once you’re cooking, but does take a bit of foresight to get your cedar plank well soaked.  This is a VERY IMPORTANT step because if your plank is not soaked well enough it will burn and you will not get that delicious cedar smokey flavor.

Gather up your ingredients.  I always say to do this so you’re not running around the kitchen for things.  Organize now and save yourself a ton of time later!  This is also a great time to preheat your grill.  You’ll want to fire up all burners and get the grill to a high internal heat.

This is fresh water Alaskan Salmon from Costco (which is my happy place!  Seriously, Costco deserves it’s own post!  Which may or may not be coming soon).  The quality of your salmon is huge!  Lower quality salmon tends to have that fishy taste that nobody likes.  Yuck!  This salmon, when well cooked, is tender, delicious, and falls apart perfectly.

STEP 2)  Generously season both sides of the salmon with salt and pepper.

STEP 3)  Using your Dijon Mustard (I’m partial to Grey Poupon, check the old school commercial here!), rub GENEROUSLY over one side of your salmon.  Flip and repeat on the opposite side.  Really work your Dijon into the meat, but be careful not to pull apart your fish.

STEP 4)  Crumble the brown sugar over your salmon.  Once you have a good coating, go ahead and work the sugar and mustard into a mix in circular motions.  You’ll feel the sugar and mustard combine into a smooth coating.  This is going to create an amazingly delicious glaze!  Don’t be shy with the brown sugar.  I don’t even measure it, I just go for it!  Flip your fish and add sugar to the other side as well.

This is a better look at the sugar before it’s worked in.

STEP 5)  Bring the grill down to medium heat and turn off the middle burner.  Place the cedar plank on the grill for (1) minute, then flip.  You want the cedar plank to smoke, but not burn.  If the wood is soaked well enough, you shouldn’t have any flare-ups.  It’s a good idea to keep a spray bottle of water nearby though, just in case.  Lightly spray any small flare-ups.

STEP 6)  Place your salmon fillet on the cedar plank and close the grill cover.  Cook for 25-35 minutes.  Try to rarely open the grill to check on the salmon.  If you can’t help, but look, just know that it will take longer to cook.

This is what things should look like at around the halfway point.  You’ll notice that the sugar is seeping out onto the board a bit.  No worries, the sugar on the salmon is perfectly crisping.  Lookin’ good!

When your salmon looks like this, you’re done!  The glaze is perfectly crisped, the insides are moist and juicy, and there’s no need for a knife because this dish pulls apart so easily. Yuuummmm!!!

DROOOOOOOOLING just looking at this!  I’m hungry again.  Dang.

Delicious, fresh, and amazingly easy to make.  Throw in some rice and asparagus or green beans to complete the meal.  Definitely definitely try out this Tasty Tuesday, it’s one of my favorites so far!!!

My disclaimer is this though: ***THIS IS ONE VERY DELICIOUS DISH***  I only recommend this dish to you if 1)  You have wonderful self control. 2)  You have such a vigorous workout routine that something like this isn’t even a speed bump to you.  Or 3)  You are eating this with a bunch of other people.  Seriously, get lots of people… lots.

Alright, let’s get cookin’!!!  Errr… Baking!!!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 cans (16.3 oz each) Pillsbury Grands Homestyle Buttermilk biscuits
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

Alright, so remember, this IS NOT cooking!  That means that the ingredient amounts are quite a bit more strict.  Too much of one thing could really change the taste of this dish and even mess up the baked outcome.  So play it safe and stick to the recipe this time.  ***PREHEAT OVEN TO 350 DEGREES NOW***

1)  Put your 1/2 cup of granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon in a gallon sized Ziploc bag.

2)  Open your Grands biscuits. (BOOM! BOOM!  I love that part.)

3)  Separate them out and cut them into fourths evenly.

4)  Pop the cut up biscuits into the Ziploc bag with your sugar and cinnamon.

5)  Shake shake shake… shake shake shake… shake that ba-ag… shake that ba-ag!  Ya know “bag” instead of “booty”.  Anyone?

6)  In a small bowl, melt your 3/4 cup butter.

7)  Then, add in your 1 cup of firmly packed brown sugar.

8)  Now mix them together until they are their own crazy delicious (and crazy not-good-for-you) sauce!

Have your 1/2 of chopped walnuts waiting.  They’re up next!

9) Alright, using a greased bunt cake pan, first sprinkle in some walnuts, then a layer of biscuits, then walnuts, then biscuits, and repeat until full.

10)  Next, pour your butter/brown sugar sauce over the pan.  Don’t worry about mixing it in.  As it bakes, the sauce seeps down into the bottom of the pan.

11)  Pop it in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

12)  After 30 minutes remove the Monkey Bread from the oven and let stand for 10 minutes.

This 10 minute cooling period is VERY IMPORTANT!  If you just pull it out and flip it over, it’s going to go everywhere.  The cooling time allows things to congeal together.

13)  When you just can’t stand it anymore, because it smells so good, go ahead and flip your pan over.  It should fall right out and stay in a nice ring of goodness!

14)  Now chow down!  But like I said, make sure you have a bunch of people to eat with.  It’s one of the best desserts ever created and so hard to resist!

Look at the gooey goodness that is Monkey Bread!  Baaaahhh!  I might have to go grab another piece…  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 3 cups packed fresh basil leaves
• 3 large garlic cloves
• 2/3 cup walnuts, lightly toasted, out of shell
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (let’s be real, have 2/3 cup ready!)
• Salt and Pepper
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 pound penne pasta
• 1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes

The pesto sauce is going to be made in a food processor, so have one ready to go!  You’ll also want to get your water on the stove to a boil and the grill warmed up to a medium-high right now.  Remember, cooking is about timing.  You have to time things so that they come out together and can be plated together.  Have you ever been at a restaurant when half the table receives their meal and the other half comes out 10 minutes later?  You don’t want to be that guy!

Make sure that your basil is very fresh!  Basil is the key ingredient in pesto so the better the basil, the better the sauce.

I like to measure out most of my ingredients and have everything ready to go before I begin a meal.  Keeps me from having to reach into cupboards searching for something that you know you have… but where?  So prepare everything before hand and you will not have any problems with lost ingredients later.

We’re going to use 3 cloves of garlic in this recipe, so I thought I would quickly touch on a great way to get your garlic out of the peel (this comes from watching my mom cook for years).  First, cut off each end of your clove.

Then, put your knife on top of it, and (picture lacking) give it a good firm pound with the flat soft side of your fist.  I’ve seen people do it with their palms, but that just looks weird.  Do it this way and you’ll look like a pro.

BAM, your garlic is now peeled.  Remove the skin easily and you’re ready to start adding ingredients to your food processor.

1)  In goes your 3 cups of  basil leaves and 3 garlic cloves (if you like a little extra kick, throw in an extra clove).  I happen to have an average size food processor and I can tell you that I had to pack in the basil!  Don’t worry, totally normal.  Once you fire that baby up it reduces quickly.

2)  Drizzle in the 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil through the top hole while the food processor is running.  Suddenly, your basil leaves and garlic turn to a wonderful mush that looks a little something like this.

3)  Add in 1/3 cup of the walnuts and save the other 1/3 cup for later!  Blend it up until the walnuts are full ground in.  The walnuts lighten up the pesto a bit, so yours should be looking a little something like this.

4)  Scoop your pesto out of the food processor into a bowl.  Add 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese and stir in well.

5)  Your chicken is going to take slightly longer than your pasta.  Go put your chicken on the grill before your pasta goes in (I marinate mine in oil, salt, pepper, and garlic for an hour or so before cooking, but optional).

6)  Now that your chicken is grilling, add your pound of penne pasta to the boiling water.  Your pasta is going to take about 10 minutes to an al dente tenderness (”al dente” is firm to the bite, but not hard.  In Italian it literally means “underdone”).

7)  While the chicken is grilling and the pasta is boiling, go ahead and take this time to chop up the remaining 1/3 cup walnuts to sprinkle on top of the dishes.

8)  Also, get your 1/2 cup of sun-dried tomatoes chopped up if they come whole in the jar like mine.

***TASTY TUESDAY WINE PAIRING***

Because we’re having a pasta dish with chicken that has LOTS of green throughout, I chose a blend called Ménage à Trois.  Yeah, that’s it’s real name!  It’s a blend of a zinfandel, a merlot, and a cabernet and it is soooo tasty!  You can pick it up at Vons for around $14 and this wine can pair with many different dishes.

9)  At about 6 minutes, you’ll probably want to flip your chicken.

It always helps to have a helper in the kitchen to try your pasta for you.  Ya know, to tell you if it’s ready or not ;)  Al dente yet Rome?

10)  Drain your pasta well, then return it to the large (empty) pot that you cooked it in.

11)  Go grab your chicken off the grill and slice it up.  If you marinated yours in oil, garlic, salt and pepper, it will probably be as juicy and delicious as this one!

12)  Now the easy part!  In your pot, add the pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, and grilled chicken!  Stir well.

13)  Dish it up and top with the rest of your chopped walnuts and more parmesan cheese!

14)  Okay, I lied.  This is the easy part.  Eat up and enjoy!

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