On Wednesday, May 11, U.S. Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., will host his sixth annual bipartisan competition to determine which member of the Minnesota Congressional Delegation makes the best hotdish casserole.
Originally scheduled for March 16, the competition had to be postponed due to President Obama's nomination of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court. Both Franken and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., are members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and attended the announcement at the White House.
"The annual Hotdish Competition gives an opportunity for the Minnesota Congressional Delegation to take a break from partisanship and come together over a vibrant Minnesota tradition: hotdish," Franken said in a news release. "Every year, I'm impressed by the creative dishes that highlight Minnesota's great culinary heritage. I look forward to seeing what's in store this year."
This year's judges will be: Tom Sietsema-award-winning Washington Post food critic from Worthington; Dorothy Sietsema, Tom Sietsema's mother and a Minnesota culinary authority; Ryan Jensen, founder and owner of Peregrine Espresso from Fergus Falls.
Franken is scheduled to be joined by the rest of the Minnesota delegation, including Klobuchar and Reps. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., Betty McCollum, D-Minn., John Kline,R-Minn., Keith Ellison, D-Minn., Tim Walz, D-Minn., Rick Nolan, D-Minn., Erik Paulsen, R-Minn., and Tom Emmer, R-Minn.
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In 2011, Franken started the friendly competition as a way to bring the delegation together, put partisanship aside, and celebrate a Minnesota culinary tradition. Each member will provide a hotdish-traditional Minnesota fare-which will be judged based on taste, originality and presentation.
The delegation will also be making a donation to Second Harvest Heartland, a Minnesota-based food bank that helps stock more than 1,000 food shelves, soup kitchens, senior centers and homeless shelters throughout the state.
May 11 is also the anniversary date of Minnesota becoming a state in 1858.
Last year, McCollum's "Turkey, Sweet Potato, and Wild Rice Hotdish" beat out the competitors to take top prize. Walz's "Turkey Trot Tater-Tot Hotdish" won in 2014, and his "Hermann the German Hotdish" took first place in 2013. In 2012, Franken's "Mom's Mahnomin Madness Hotdish" and former Rep. Chip Cravaack's, R-Minn., "Minnesota Wild Strata Hotdish" tied for first place. Klobuchar took top honors in 2011 with her "Taconite Tater-Tot Hotdish."
After the event, go to franken.senate.gov for recipes of all of the entries.
