The members of Star Base Andromeda traditionally get together once per month at a member's house, to hold a potluck dinner. Sometimes these dinners have a particular cultural theme (Chinese, Mexican, Italian), while sometimes that theme takes the form of a "theme ingredient or dish" (fondue, chocolate, rice, etc.). Five times since 2001, we have also enjoyed experimenting with "Multi-Course Meals," in which each attendee (or attending family) "claims" a course during a 2-3 hour meal. Since many of our members are fans of television's Iron Chef program, we often "judge" the presentations and tastes of dishes shared at these meals. Potlucks during summer months usually involve grilling main dishes outside.

Due to limited seating capacity, our monthly potlucks are open only to current members, and invited associates or friends of the club. If you are interested in attending the next such potluck, please contact any of the officers.

The name "First Fridays" comes from our original schedule for these potlucks when we first began holding them - the "first Friday" of each month. We have since become quite flexible when scheduling our "First Fridays," with potlucks being held on Fridays, Sundays or (more often) Saturdays, but the "First Friday" label remained as something of a tradition for several years.

Also see the Frisbee Golf Picnic page for information about our semi-annual Club Picnic.

Meal Competitions

Battle: Rice [2001]

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Battle: Multi-Course Meal #1 [1-19-2002]

Here are the final voting results for the multi-course meal held by SBA on 1-19-2002. With 14 voting forms turned in, we had four cases where a vote was not cast (by three different voters). With this in mind, we couldn't have a simple "final scores across the board" tally. Instead, the scores for each dish (maximum of 20 points per voter -- 10 each for Presentation and Taste), were tallied and then divided by the number of votes cast. Thus, with a possible best score of 20.00 and worst of 1.00, the following were the average scores for the eight courses (in the order in which they were served):

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Battle: Multi-Course Meal #2 [January 19, 2003]

Here are the final voting results for the multi-course meal held by SBA on 1-19-2003. With 15 voting forms turned in, we had several cases where a vote was not cast. With this in mind, we again couldn't have a simple "final scores across the board" tally. Again, the scores for each dish (maximum of 20 points per voter -- 10 each for Presentation and Taste), were tallied and then divided by the number of votes cast. Thus, with a possible best score of 20.00 and worst of 1.00, the following were the average scores for the eight courses (in the order in which they were served):

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Battle: Multi-Course Meal #3 [January 18, 2004]

Here are the final voting results for the third multi-course meal held by SBA, on 1-18-2004. With 12 voting forms turned in, we had several cases where a vote was not cast. With this in mind, we again couldn't have a simple "final scores across the board" tally. For this third year, we expanded the voting to three categories, with a combined maximum of 25 points (10 points for Presentation [Plating], 10 points for Taste, and now 5 points for Creativity/Originality). Once again, the scores for each dish were tallied and then divided by the number of votes cast. Thus, with a possible best score of 25.00 and worst of 1.00, the following were the average scores for the eight courses (in the order in which they were served):Note: The number of asterisks following the score indicates the number of perfect "25s" cast for this dish (out of a total of 12 vote casters) Larger photos and recipes page coming soon...

PHOTO	COURSE	DESCRIPTION	CONTRIBUTOR	AVE. SCORE	NOTES
	Appetizer	Whipped cheese dip with Almond coating and selection of mixed crackers	Bryce Pfeiffer	20.00	**
	Appetizer	Hashbrown Quiche & Pastry Rolls	Melissa Sailors	17.33
	Salad	Tuna salad on Toast with Grapes, presented in origami boxes	Karen Pfeiffer	20.18	*
	Soup	Artichoke Bisque with Parsley-Lemon Gremolata & Italian Crostini and Pecan Hummus Dip	Scott and Becky Clark	17.33
	Entree	Stuffed Green Peppers, Burritos & Taco Salad with salsas and dips	Terri and Frank Dreier	16.63
	Cheese/Fruit	Cheddar, Havarti and Gouda cheeses with red and green grapes	Rod Vasek	17.00
	Dessert	Chocolate Mousse and Raspberries in White Chocolate Shells	Agris and Diane Taurins	24.00	*******
	After Dinner Drink	Peachy Creams and Kaptain Kirks (non-alcholic mixed drinks)	Lizzie Pfeiffer	20.09	*

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Battle: Multi-Course Meal #4 [January 22, 2005]

Here are the final voting results for the fourth multi-course meal held by the members of SBA, on 1-22-2005. With 21 in attendance and 15 voting forms turned in, we again had several cases where a vote was not cast. With this in mind, we again couldn't have a simple "final scores across the board" tally. This year, we again used three categories, with a combined maximum of 25 points (10 points for Presentation [Plating], 10 points for Taste, and 5 points for Creativity/Originality of the dish). Once again, the scores for each dish were tallied and then divided by the number of votes cast. Thus, with a possible best score of 25.00 and worst of 1.00, the following were the average scores for the eight courses (in the order in which they were served): Note: The number of asterisks following the score indicates the number of perfect "25s" cast for this dish (out of a total of 15 vote casters) Larger photos and recipes page coming soon...

PHOTO	COURSE	DESCRIPTION	CONTRIBUTOR	AVE. SCORE	NOTES
	Appetizer	Crab cakes with lime sauce; filo-wrapped Prosciutto, Asparagus and Parmesan; pastry shells with spinach and mixture of cheeses	Agris and Diane Taurins	20.33	*
	Fish	Fish Fromage a la Mexican Rice	Rod Vasek	16.13
	Salad	Fresh tomato, cucumber and onion salad in dressing	Katrina and Mike Ponte	14.56	not scored by request
	Soup	"Monkey brains" chili -- Texas River Rat chili presented in a cinnamon roll bread bowl	Terri and Frank Dreier	20.14
	Entree	Garlic and olive-oil pasta, with Italian meatloaf, stuffed with basil, sun-dried tomatoes, red wine and smoke mozzarella	Karen and Bryce Pfeiffer	17.37
	Entree	Braised chicken Portuguese with Parmesan cheese puffs	Melissa Sailors	17.27
	Dessert	Magic Witch's Pumpkin Pie with Devonshire Cream, on personally decorated plates	Bea Pfeiffer	19.60	*
	Dessert	Pear ice cream with pear, assorted cookies, three sauces and a pear spritzer on the side	Becky and Scott Clark	20.36

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Battle: Multi-Course Meal #5 [February 11, 2006]

Here are the final voting results for the fifth multi-course meal held by the members of SBA, on 2-11-2006. With only 7 in attendance and 7 voting forms turned in, this was our lowest turnout to-date. However, scores for all four courses were higher than our yearly averages...indicating that everyone had a good time and really enjoyed the food. This year, we again used three categories, with a combined maximum of 25 points (10 points for Presentation [Plating], 10 points for Taste, and 5 points for Creativity/Originality of the dish). Once again, the scores for each dish were tallied and then divided by the number of votes cast. Thus, with a possible best average score of 25.00 and worst of 1.00, the following were the average scores for the four courses (in the order in which they were served): Note: The number of asterisks following the score indicates the number of perfect "25s" cast for this dish (out of a total of 7 vote casters) Click on the small photos to see larger images. Recipes page coming in the future...

PHOTO	COURSE	DESCRIPTION	CONTRIBUTOR	AVE. SCORE	NOTES
	Soup	Creamy Peach and Pepper Soup, with Cheese Crisp	Becky Wurm Clark	17.43
	Salad	Ribbon Salad	Scott Clark	19.00
	Entree	Flaming Asian Kebabs -- Sirloin and Chicken kebabs, with spicy and sweet dipping sauces, and three exotic types of rice.	Agris and Diane Taurins	22.57	***
	Dessert	Chocolate Cream Puff Delight	Rod Vasek	20.36

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Last updated on 3-4-2008

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