“Today was the bestest day.” Our son adopts one of his big sister’s sayings as Chris was putting him to bed. We had ourselves a relaxing Saturday (as all Saturdays should be), culminating in a dinner visit by Erin, Sarah and Olivia. How could today be anything but the bestest?

For guests, even regular guests, we always try to make an impression.

Towards that end, we serve Copper River salmon as the main course tonight. We know that both aunts eat salmon, so it seems like a safe bet. Copper River salmon is a wild salmon that is only in season for a short time during the year, making it perfect when trying to impress guests. Even better, we cook it in a smoked paprika sauce to make it as flavorful as possible.

As an alternative main course, we prepare some enchiladas. They turned out very well—tasty and hearty and not too spicy (a situation resolved with a little Chipotle Tabasco sauce). No doubt the enchiladas were so good because we used cheese rejected by Nanny.

The cheese was part of a gift basket from Harry and David that we sent Nan for Mother’s day. Both Nanny and Gramps loved the fruit basket we sent for Gramps’ birthday—they raved about it. It seemed a no-brainer to send it to Nanny for Mother’s Day. In addition to the fruit, the basket arrived with a cheese assortment.

When Nanny thanked us for the gift basket, she was very curious what cheddar cheese tasted like! In her entire life, she has only had Italian cheeses. How do you explain what cheddar cheese tastes like? Robin told her that it was a little like American cheese—which she said she did not eat. Nanny decided that we could have it when we visited.

So, with several blocks of cheese and a margarita mix from Chris (also a Mother’s Day gift), Robin puts together a Mexican-inspired meal.

The kids also did their part entertaining the guests. They showed Olivia how to play their computer games (Olivia preferred Elmo). Everyone enjoyed the sit ‘n’ spin (even Erin!).

We gave the kids a bath together then read bedtime stories. Story time could have gone better—they were having way too much fun talking to listen to a story.

As far as the kids were concerned, the best part of the evening was having their little cousin sleep over. Plans were already under way for adventures at the Farmers’ Market in the morning—"She can have a hot dog! She loves them!"

All of which is why it was our son’s bestest day ever. Until tomorrow.

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