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A Progressive Way to Celebrate Harvest

by Taryn

Have you been hankering for a nice social gathering but feel hesitant to take on all of the burdens of entertaining? Because I’m slightly intimidated by the thought of throwing a dinner party on my own, one day the thought occurred to me--why not invite a few people to join in planning a progressive dinner and share the responsibility? All you need is three or four others to agree to host one course of the evening's meal, and you have instant fancy dinner party without all the fuss. And unlike a potluck, no one has to transport dishes in the car. A progressive meal would also be a great way to have a big Thanksgiving meal when you can't get home to Mom's and you're not quite ready to try the whole turkey-stuffing-gravy thing on your own just yet.

progressive (adj.) 1. a moving forward; 2. advocating new ideas and methods

Well I ran my idea past some of the gals, and despite its semi-cheesy associations with church functions, we decided to attempt a harvest-themed progressive dinner. (After all, if you invite progressive-minded folks, there's no way it could turn out hokey--it’ll be more like a salon!) First, we volunteered ourselves for the courses. Jan agreed to take on the appetizers. Christy and I would handle the salad and main course, and Angie would host for dessert. Then I gave everyone some time to decide exactly what they'd be serving, and plotted out an approximate schedule.

When scheduling out your times, be sure to take into account the travel time for the distances between each location, and, of course, leave a bit of cushion for lingerers. Also, keep in mind that depending on what the menu includes, the next hostess might have to leave a location slightly earlier to finish her preparations. For our dinner, I planned about 45 minutes for the first and last courses and a full hour for the main course and that seemed to flow smoothly.

Since everyone had pretty much confirmed their attendance by agreeing to help, we didn't need invitations, but I did take a final count of significant others who'd be attending and let each hostess know how many folks to be prepared for. Then I made up some announcements, letting everyone know the menu for each location and the approximate estimated times of arrival and departure; that way everyone knew exactly what to expect and could simply enjoy themselves.

Announcing the festive occasion.

6:30PM

First stop: Jan's house. Ever the hostess aware of ambience, her living room was beautifully decorated with a festive fall leaf bouquet and scattered candles, and a mix of folk and bluegrass on the stereo. She greeted everyone warmly and brought out a spread of delicious hors d'oeuvres including Brie en Croute, Roasted Garlic, and Stuffed Mushrooms. (See this month's Fridge for those yummy recipes.) I personally could've spent the evening polishing off the brie, but attempted to show some restraint after being reminded of the treats to come!

Divine hors d’oeuvres at Jan’s.

7:30PM

Next we made our way to Christy's house. She and I live quite close to Jan so the journey didn't take long. The dining room table was set for seven with her lovely Van Gogh-inspired china and a bouquet of short-stemmed pink roses. A nice jazz collection played in the background, and the guests retired to the living room with beverages. Meanwhile, we made up the Fresh Tomato, Basil, and Mozzarella Salads, and put the biscuits in the oven for the main dish. We offered chicken and biscuits for our meat-eating friends and Jan's recipe for faux Sausage Gravy and Biscuits for the vegetarians. The conversation was witty and wacky (of course!) and everyone had already concluded the evening was a success--the only true difficulty being leaving room for dessert!

Christy’s elegant table set with salads.

9:00PM

Lastly, we made our way to Angie's. Now she's a country gal, so we added in some extra time for travel, but the drive was a nice one and the reward definitely worthwhile. Her table was set with her scrumptious seasonal Pumpkin Roll dessert and mugs for coffee or her husband's famous caramel apple cider. Mmmm, good.

Finally, we rolled ourselves to Angie’s for some Pumpkin Roll.

By this time, we were all completely satisfied, or just plain stuffed--and making preposterous claims about how long we'd have to go without eating again. I’m not sure if any of us lived up to our resolutions, but the general consensus is that it was definitely a worthwhile venture--even if you do have to go home and do up the dishes afterward.