Saturday night, we had our first Progressive Dinner. Since we had three kids in attendance, we started the evening out early at 5:30 pm. The first stop was The Neighbors house and they kicked it off with cocktails and appetizers. Pina Coladas, Cuban Toasties and a meat, cheese and cracker platter. A great way to kick-off the night.

Next up was The Newlywed Neighbors’ house for salad … a platter with prosciutto and melon and another with tomatoes, mozzarella and balsamic vinegar. The Newlywed Husband thrilled the kids when he made grilled peanut butter and honey sandwiches - not a speck was left on the plate, with the adults scooping in for the last bits. Since they don’t have kids yet (but have one on the way!), the first question out of the kids’ mouth as soon as they walked in the door was “Where are all the toys?” Luckily, there are two very energetic cats in residence, and they were all involved in a spirited game of tag in no time, with the cats in full participation, believe it or not.

Third stop was our house. I wanted to keep it simple, yet still go with crowd-pleasers that would work for the adults and kids alike. I went with Nicholas’ new favorite pasta, Penne with Vodka Sauce, with a platter of Baked Caprese Salad on the side. The night before, I spied a new recipe for Monster Eyes, which I thought would be fun for the kids. The olives popped out during baking, so Monster Eyes they were not, but with a mustard dipping sauce, I think they were ok.

Last stop was a friend across the water, and she took care of dessert. Fresh pumpkin ice cream from a local dairy, smooshed between sugar cookies, it was the perfect ice cream sandwich to end the evening.

Surprisingly enough, with four stops and food at each one, it was just the right amount of food. No one was overly stuffed, yet I think everyone was contentedly full. We finally drew the evening to a close at 11 pm, and Nicholas fell asleep merely seconds after his head hit the pillow, as I’m sure it was the same with the other kids too. And now we have ourselves a new quarterly tradition.