Everyone hosts, everyone is served, everyone wins at a neighborhood progressive dinner.

A progressive dinner is a great way to get the neighbors together. At a progressive dinner, everyone gets to be the host and the guest, all in one evening. The burden is shared and the fun is spread throughout the neighborhood.

In a progressive dinner, you “progress” through the meal, from course to course, from house to house, changing locations and hosts for each step of the way.

Choose your partiers

Since the purpose of a progressive dinner is to change locations, the best progressive dinners are done in a neighborhood, with the participating families living within walking distance.

If you’re planning a progressive dinner for a large number of families, assign five or six families to be host houses. For these large dinners, you may want to collect money from each family to help pay for the food, since quantities and costs will be greater.

Plan your progressive dinner

Divide up the number of families and decide who wants which course. A suggested progressive dinner plan is:

• Appetizer
• Soup
• Salad
• Kids’ Meal
• Main Course
• Dessert

If you choose not to have a separate time and place for a kids’ meal, each of the participating houses should have something for young kids to eat or snack on, if you’re including children.

Keep the dinner progressing. Plan the evening so that you don’t linger too long at any one house. For a six-stop dinner, 30 minutes at each house is plenty of time to enjoy the food and fun before moving on. Allow a bit more time for the main course.

Keep serving sizes small. Each guest will only want a small salad. For soup, serve cups instead of bowls. And for the main course, keep portions small. Leave room for dessert!

Add some fun

Jazz up your progressive dinner by adding a theme or some entertainment. If your dinner is at Christmastime, have Santa visit, join you for dessert and pass out gifts (pre-arranged and provided ahead by parents).

Go international and have each course represent a different country. Host and hostess can wear something from that country and set the table accordingly.

If you’re movie buffs, take a DVD along and watch a portion of the movie at each house.

Main course suggestions for your progressive dinner

Beef and seafood as a combined main course are perfect for a progressive dinner. Together they offer something for all tastes, plus both can be placed in the oven and set on timed bake, so they're done as you and your group arrive at your home for the main course.

Seafood Casserole

• 2 pounds shrimp, peeled & deveined
• 2 pounds scallops
• 2 cups white bread cubes
• ½ cup unsalted butter
• 1/3-1/2 cup sherry
• Lowry’s Garlic Salt

Melt butter. Sauté scallops approximately 2-3 minutes. Add shrimp and continue to cook for 2 more minutes. Season with garlic salt. Turn off heat and add bread crumbs and sherry. Pour into a casserole dish; sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

Filet and Mushrooms

Start this recipe the night before.

Freeze a filet mignon. Cook on a grill, frozen, so that both sides have a charcoal coat. Cut to finger-sized or bite-sized pieces. Set aside. Cook a large amount of sliced mixed mushrooms in olive oil and unsalted butter. Sprinkle with garlic salt and cracked black pepper. As mushrooms cook, add port wine to taste. Add mushrooms to meat and store in roasting pan overnight. Heat in a pre-heated 350-degree oven until medium or rare, to taste.