As for dinner, it was nearly everything I hoped for. I went to Whole Foods to find the nicest food I could, and I still wasn't settled on a main dish. I headed over to the fish counter and the fishmonger (I really wanted to say that-- don't know that I've ever had a reason to type it) immediately sold me on the wild Alaskan salmon. And let me tell you, it was the best decision I've made all year. I never buy salmon, and this did not disappoint. It was pricey, but nowhere near ordering it in a restaurant.
Here is an incomplete cast of characters:
The menu:
french onion soup
green salad with herbed buttermilk dressing and homemade croutons
roasted and mashed cauliflower
grilled salmon with lemons
grapefruit italian soda
and s'mores for dessert
And the ugly photo of the food all laid out.
I was so happy to make my Sandlot reference when Sam suggested s'mores for dessert via text. "Do you like s'mores?" said Sam. "S'more what?" I replied. Ha. So it wasn't the perfect set-up. I still loved it. And I rarely (if ever) think of s'mores as a treat I would like to make myself, so it was a lovely and simple and surprising. (Though, this is actually the second time in the last year I've eaten s'mores. Before that, I think it dates back to about 2001 at girls' camp.)
The lesson we learned was we much prefer the low-key holiday to the hyped up craze. I also learned I want to eat salmon every day. (oh wait. I knew that already.)