Another wintry storm Friday

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WASHINGTON - The annual Minnesota congressional hotdish bakeoff is a culinary celebration of processed food and Sunday church dinners with a heavy dose of made-for-the-cameras media magic. A panel of Minnesotans judges the entries for authenticity and taste while TV crews yell at onlookers to keep out of their shot.

"I'm a chemical engineer who specializes in complex and sometimes hazardous fluids, so I'm well qualified" said one judge, University of Minnesota President Eric Kaler. The other judges were former MinnPost reporter Devin Henry and Star Tribune editorial writer Jill Burcum, who was in town testifying about Native American schools.

Many of the dishes this year contained turkey, perhaps in solidarity with a local industry that's fighting an outbreak of avian flu.

"Have you noticed how we support our turkeys?" asked Sen. Amy Klobuchar. "We're just trying to show how safe it is to eat turkey."

It's sometimes not clear which members prepare the hotdishes themselves and which shuck the job onto their staffers, but Congressman Tim Walz, a past two-time winner angling for a third victory, said it's best not to use family recipes.

"There's too much pressure. What do you do if your great-grandma's recipe you're so proud of doesn't win?" said Walz.

Sen. Al Franken, the event's organizer, called Walz's self-promotion on behalf of a three-peat, "kind of obnoxious."

As the judging commenced, the scrum of reporters taking pictures grew.

"To get this many TV cameras, I usually have to fire a coach," Kaler quipped.

Ironically, the winner of this year's event, Rep. Betty McCollum, was the one member of the delegation who was absent. McCollum was attending the mark up of a military construction spending bill in the appropriations committee.

Appropriately for the representative of a deep blue congressional district centered around St. Paul, her entry included 

sweet potatoes (in tater tot form), kale and crimini mushrooms

. McCollum's also been in some spats lately with 

fellow Democrats on the congressional delegation

 over water quality standards that could affect the wild rice harvest, so perhaps it's not entirely a surprise that wild rice was a major component of her dish.

McCollum's statement about winning the competition was much more bland than her hotdish.

“Minnesota families from all walks of life come together around their dinner tables to eat hotdish, visit about their days and plan for tomorrow. Our congressional hotdish competition gives us that same chance to spend time together to build relationships as we work together to serve our constituents,” said McCollum.

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Brett Neely

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Its the fifth time Minnesota's members of Congress have faced off over who can bake the best hotdish.

McCollum crowned congressional hotdish champ

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