WASHINGTON - Even baseball legend Ted Williams couldn't hit .500, but MN Congressman Tim Walz can.
At least when it comes to the Congressional hot dish competition.
Fierce competition this year but proud to take home the gold! Thanks, as always, to @SenFranken for hosting! pic.twitter.com/sM833rPTR8
— Tim Walz (@RepTimWalz) May 11, 2016
For the third time in its six-year run, Walz won the home state casserole contest, besting Senators Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), 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.).
Walz took home the crown with his "Turkey Taco Tot Hotdish," edging out Franken's "Land of 10,000 Calories Hotdish" which came in second place and Klobuchar's "Babe the Brew Ox Steak and Ale Hotdish" which came in at third place.
“A Hotdish dynasty is born,” Rep. Walz said, after winning his third Hotdish championship. “In all seriousness though, I congratulate Rep. McCollum on her delicious runner-up dish as well, and thank Senator Franken again for putting on this friendly competition. It’s a great way for us to come together and celebrate our heritage, while building bipartisan relationships. As we move forward, let’s carry this spirit of bipartisanship past the Hotdish competition, and work to solve the real challenges we face.”
Other notable dishes from the local delegation include McCollum's "Making Hotdish Great Again Hotdish," a play off Donald Trump's campaign slogan and Ellison's Prince-themed hotdish, "The Most Beautiful Hotdish in the World."
Judging the competition this year were:
- Tom Sietsema—Award winning Washington Post food critic from Worthington, MN
- Dorothy Sietsema—Tom Sietsema's mother and a Minnesota culinary authority
- Ryan Jensen—Founder and Owner of Peregrine Espresso from Fergus Falls, MN
Originally set for March 16, the 2016 competition had to be postponed due to President Obama's nomination of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court. Both Franken and Klobuchar are members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and attended the announcement at the White House.
Franken conceived of the competition in 2011 in an attempt to break down partisanship among Minnesota's lawmakers and celebrate the hot dish tradition. Here are the past winners.
- 2015 - Rep. McCollum's "Turkey, Sweet Potato, and Wild Rice Hotdish" beat out the competitors to take top-prize.
- 2014 - Rep. Walz's "Turkey Trot Tater-Tot Hotdish."
- 2013 - Walz's "Hermann the German Hotdish."
- 2012 - Sen. Franken's "Mom's Mahnomin Madness Hotdish" and former Rep. Chip Cravaack's (R-Minn.) "Minnesota Wild Strata Hotdish" tied for first place.
- 2011 - Sen. Klobuchar took top honors in 2011 with her "Taconite Tater-Tot Hotdish."
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.
For a full list of winners, plus all the competitor's recipes, click here.
