Easter dinner

Easter lunch=successful venture.
And, possibly a new trend for my friends to try. Sunday lunches at home.
I love my friends and have known them since 99. We met when I was a bartender at a pub in Arizona. For whatever reason, we started meeting outside of the brewery at other bars and eventually restaurants, holidays and vacations. They have known me through success and hardship and remained supportive. Encouraging, even, of my nonsensical impulsive decisions.
As long as we have been friends, I have noticed a few things about them. They prefer to dine out exclusively. Rarely, if ever, do they eat at home.
A few times over our ten + year friendship, we have grilled at their home. Few and far between the meals enjoyed at restaurants.
Yesterday, being Easter, I suggested making a home cooked meal. Her husband was all for it. He would pick up a ham. They already had this gorgeous pineapple that we could grill and I suggested grilling vegetables. Jan wanted au gratin potatoes. I looked on-line and they consulted a few cookbooks. They had a recipe that they liked and so I opted to use that cookbook.
We cleared the table. Gorgeous table that is covered with items--books, bills, flowers. Like I said, they rarely dine at home. The table is beautiful when available for dining.
All, in all, the meal was delicious. The asparagus was too stringy; but otherwise, I loved the pineapple, grilled mushrooms and peppers. I even liked the ham.
The potatoes were fine. I think I would doctor up the recipe to improve upon it. More garlic and onions, less milk.
Afterwards, we sat outside of their massive patio and contemplated life. I suggested making their Sundays a tradition of utilizing their home. They have other family here and wanted to have them over. I recommended a rotating Sunday dinner guest. That way, they could experiment with cooking and work their way up to incorporating more people.
I think they might take a cooking class to spruce up their options. Yes, easter lunch was a success. Great way to illustrate how cooking at home can be simple and delightful.