e the gown she wore to a state dinner for India in November 2009. For the first time, the Obamas served dinner underneath the skies in the Rose Garden, just steps from the Oval Office. The fare featured tuna tartare, petite filet and apple strudel. Obama used the dinner toasts as an occasion to present Merkel with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. And after the citation was read aloud, Obama told the 200-plus dinner guests to go ahead and applaud. But then the president realized he'd forgotten something. "I've got to do the toast," he reminded himself. And he did just that. Just two weeks ago in London, Obama had a misfire with his dinner toast at a state dinner at Buckingham Palace. When the band cut in to play "God Save the Queen" before Obama had finished his toast, he prematurely raised his glass to toast the queen. Then he paused and dutifully waited for the song to end before raising his glass again. Tuesday's dinner played out on a Rose Garden lawn that was covered with protective flooring gray and white carpet. Guests dined at a mix of rectangular and round tables covered with white and silver sequined linens topped with green-and-yellow centerpieces of calla lilies, orchids and other flowers. On the menu? The tuna, which came from Hawaii, was paired with rye crisps and the petite filet was served with Maryland crab ravioli. The salad came from the first lady's garden, dressed in vinaigrette made of White House honey. For dessert, the pastry chef whipped up apple strudel from a recipe that's said to be a twist on traditional German strudel. It was made with farmer's cheese from Vermont. The National Symphony Orchestra also performed. But what German-born conductor Christoph Eschenbach brought was essentially the NSO lite: Just 30 of the group's 100-plus musicians could fit on a stage erected on the South Lawn. Eschenbach promised a program heavy on German composers -- Beethoven, Handel, Mendelssohn, but no Wagner (Merkel's favorite) because of the smaller number of musicians. He said the warm weather "might be a bit humid on the keys" but wasn't a huge problem for the musicians. Obama said Merkel deserved the presidential medal because of her remarkable career. Merkel grew up in communist East Germany, living a life devoid of many freedoms until the Berlin Wall that divided her country was brought down in 1989. She was in her 30s. Six years ago, she became the first woman and first East