The Progressive Dinner

Yesterday I mentioned we were doing something fun, called a progressive dinner. We went to 4 different house, with mine being the last stop for desserts. Progressive Desserts – Part #1 – Pine Nut And Honey Tart We spent roughly an hour to an hour and a half at each stop. It was fun seeing other people’s homes and kitchens and getting to know everyone better. 

At the first stop, we started off with an apertif or drinks before dinner. An aperitif is a dry or fizzy alcoholic drink, originating from Italy, usually consumed before food. Aperitif comes from the Italian word “Aperitivo,” which literally translates as “appetiser”. An apéritif is meant to stimulate the appetite, and therefore it’s usually dry and low in alcohol. We had Aperol spritzes. Aperol is a citrusy, herbal, and bittersweet, that was mixed with tonic water and an orange slice. Aperol is a botanical liqueur that’s been made in Italy for over a hundred years. The bright orange beverage was invented by brothers Luigi and Silvio Barbieri in 1919 in Padua, Italy. It’s technically considered a type of amaro, which is categorized by its bitterness (the word amaro itself translates to bitter).

Our second stop was for appetizers. It was simple fare comprised of crackers, hummus, olives, beef rolls, and some shrimp dip. 

The Dinner Crowd, with a few exceptions who joined us at my house. I was the one taking all the pictures, so I am NOT in most of them.

However, I was told I had to be in some, whether I wanted to or not.

Stop #3 was for the main course, dinner. Our host prepared a fabulous, and historic dinner that was on the menus for both the Atchison-Topeka Rail Lines and the Titanic. He made Cornish Game Hens roasted with a vegetable mire poix (carrots, celery and onions) and vegetable ragout served over a bed of sauteed spinach with a balsamic reduction sauce. He thoroughly enjoyed showing off his culinary skills, and he did an amazing job too.

There was a little impromptu after dinner jam session for our entertainment.

The final stop – my house for dessert and coffee. We had three desserts offered to everyone. I made my pine nut and honey tart, which I told you about yesterday, Progressive Desserts – Part #1 – Pine Nut And Honey Tart, as well as some some chocolate cake brought to us by Lauren, and some Greek rice pudding complete with a caramel sauce and some Greek shortbread cookies, topped with pistachios. But more on that later. We added a few more guests at my house, including Larry who joined us after his hockey game.

It was a fun night, spent with new friends and old friends, who are really more like family. Most of the guests were friends of Mike and Lauren. I had only met most of them a couple of times prior to this dinner, but we all got along very well and had a lot of fun. At our house, our friend Gabe, two of his girls, Tehvia and Cora (you see me refer to them as our ‘nieces’ all the time), one of our neighbors, and of course, Larry, all joined in for the festivities as well. 

Yes someone, actually brought their dog to all the houses as well. This was awkward because our babies, Dorrie and Juneau, had to be downstairs in the basement until Beans had left and gone home. It’s their home, and they are used to being apart of all the festivities and socializing that take place in our home. But they definitely made up for it and got to socialize with everyone else after. 

It was a very fun evening and all of us are ready to do it all again.

No matter what you do, make the most of it. Have fun as much as you can. Life is short. Enjoy the ride.

Happy New Year everyone. May 2024 bring happiness, good health and prosperity to all. ’Til next time.