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" When entertaining at home, everyone hopes for flowing conversation and memorable moments, but we have a more proactive approach. Avoid a dull dinner by engaging guests in the party process; create a menu and atmosphere that begs for guests to prepare the meal and provide the entertainment together. Here are the entr\u00E9e ideas and prep guides to keep guests entertained the evening through.  INTERACTIVE MENUS Rollicking Ravioli  Ravioli (from lemon ricotta to mashed sweet potatoes) is a hearty dish and perfect for group preparation. For homemade dough, a pasta maker is needed, but the equipment cost is well worth the entertaining outcome. Prior to the event, prepare the dough and set up three workstations for guests. Ask two guests to man the pasta machine and crank out the thin strips. Other guests can prepare the ingredients for the filling, while the last set of guests cut the geometric shapes of raviolis and fill them.  Tools: If you have a KitchenAid stand-up mixer, order the stand mixer pasta attachment, about $329.99 at KitchenAid.com. Recipes: For a lighter, zestier ravioli, the New York Times has a fantastic Meyer Lemon\u2013Ricotta recipe. If a pasta party sounds fun but buying a pasta maker doesn&amp;#039;t, try Bon Appetit&amp;#039;s Sweet-Potato Ravioli with Sage Butter Sauce; it uses wonton wrappers instead of homemade dough.  Baja Buffet  Appeal to all guests&amp;#039; taste buds by offering a slew of ingredients (and creative) options for tacos, burritos, and quesadillas. Instead of the traditional black bean or beef burrito, consider a white bean version consisting of Great Northern beans, minced garlic, olive oil, parsley, kosher salt, and freshly grated whole milk mozzarella cheese. If it&amp;#039;s a quesadilla, provide peeled shrimp and crabmeat plus a homemade tartar or horseradish sauce and white sharp cheddar cheese. While hard tacos bake in the oven, have one guest fill up tortillas and another flip quesadillas on the stove.  Tools: To look like a pro, try the El Paso Chile Quesadilla Maker, $40 at Macys.com.  Recipes: If margaritas are on the menu extend the lineup to Tequila Shrimp and Asadero Quesadillas from Chow.com. Or try Woman&amp;#039;s Day&amp;#039;s Baja-Fish Tacos for a lighter approach.  Sushi Samba  Sushi is one of the simplest and most engaging dishes to prepare. Purchase sushi-rolling kits for each guest or couple. Then provide the sushi fixings \u2014 everything from brown and white sticky rice to chopped veggies, eel, shrimp, and salmon. Then serve each guest&amp;#039;s rolls on a platter paired with sake.  Tools: Crate &amp;amp;amp; Barrel has $4.95 rolling mats, plus fantastic white sushi servingware and utensils. CrateAndBarrel.com   Recipes: Learn how to make a crowd-pleasing California roll with this step by step video. See Mediterrasian.com; it&amp;#039;s packed with ideas for ingredient variations.  Fondue Fun  Employ your fondue set (and perhaps a few friends&amp;#039;) and have the evening&amp;#039;s menu work from savory to sweet. Start with Gruyere and other cheese sauces and move to a chocolate that highlights unusual flavors, such as tarragon and ginger, for guests to sample while also guessing what flavor they are tasting.  Tools: Cuisinart&amp;#039;s 12-piece cast iron fondue set, $49.95 at Cuisinart.com, works great for both cheese and chocolate fondue.  Recipes: Gourmet has the classic Cheese recipe. For a stellar sweet fondue, dip into Metropolitan Home&amp;#039;s Ginger Carmel version.   THE EASY ROUTE Hire a Chef  Sometimes the best parties are the ones you don&amp;#039;t have to lift a finger for. Local chefs or caterers often make house trips to entertain guests by having them play a role in the preparation of the meal. (Try Hireachef.com to find a personal chef in your area.) You can have guests be involved as little or as much as you like. So if you would prefer the chef du jour to tackle the berry flamb\u00E9 while you and your guests watch in awe\u2014go for it\u2014it&amp;#039;s your party, after all. As a parting gift, provide guests with a list of recipes from the evening as well as Chinese to-go boxes of any leftovers.  Employ a Sommelier or Cigar Aficionado  A fail-proof way to keep your guests intrigued and thoroughly impressed. See if your favorite wine shop or restaurant offers this service or if they have a recommendation. And if that fails, post on Chowhound.com, where foodies in your area can suggest whom to contact for your party. Make it a thematic wine tasting or cigar sampling by choosing Spanish reds or Cuban cigars for guests to try while the sommelier and cigar rep provide the insider tips on what flavors and scents to look out for. Offer parting gifts of wine or a cigar or two. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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