WASHINGTON -- For the fifth time, Democratic Sen. Al Franken wants to taste his colleagues' cooking.
On April 22, Franken will host the annual Hotdish competition -- a bipartisan cook-off for the ten members of the Minnesota Congressional delegation.
They borrow a big conference room in a Senate office building and each member has to furnish a dish for the event -- sometimes we wonder whether they cooked it themselves or had some, um, help. This year's judges are Star Tribune editorial writer Jill Burcum and MinnPost alum Devin Henry, who departed for The Hill recently.
"Sen. Franken started the friendly competition as a way to bring the delegation together to put partisanship aside and celebrate a Minnesota culinary tradition," Franken's staffers said in a statement.
Democratic Rep. Tim Walz's cooking seems to be a favorite. He took the top prize last year for his "Turkey Trot Tater-Tot Hotdish" and in 2013 for his "Hermann the German Hotdish."
(This was before my time, does that have sausage?)
In 2012, Franken's "Mom's Mahnomnin Madness Hotdish" and former Rep. Chip Cravaack's "Minnesota Wild Strata Hotdish" tied for first place.
Don't worry. We'll post photos of the event that day.
