Hosting Series: Progressive Dinner

Oh, the Progressive Dinner–that entertaining concept from the past that is often remembered, but not often reenacted. I remember my parents participating in a progressive dinner when I was younger and we spent hours drooling over Taste of Home, deciding on the perfect cheesecake recipes to serve for the “dessert” course at our home.

Flash forward to now, where we have the most adorable neighbors who bought a house across our street for their “vacation home”. (Not many people consider Indiana to be a vacation destination, but it makes me feel that our neighborhood must be special to deserve such a designation.) In order to get to know each other better, my new neighbors suggested a progressive dinner and now it was my turn to search the recipe books for my own course to host. (I was smart and went with the “salad” option.)

So, here’s how it worked: we had five courses and five houses. We spent half an hour at each house and each host would leave a few minutes early to run to their house for finishing touches. Having all the houses on the same street made it super convenient.

And here is the (simple) menu: cheese and crostini spread, harvest salad, corn bread, chili, and burnt caramel pudding. Yum.

I really enjoyed getting to see everyone’s houses and savoring their interpretation of the menu choices. I got some new recipes and hopefully, some new friendships. Sharing the hosting responsibilities made the evening stress-free so I could focus on conversation, instead of balancing ten different items.

How about you? Have you ever participated in a progressive dinner? Any tips?