McCollum Submits ‘Beef, Beer & Biscuits’ at Delegation Hot Dish Event

U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum whipped up a hotdish with beef, biscuits and even a bottle of Stillwater-brewed Lift Bridge Chestnut Hill Brown Ale, but she couldn't bring home the big prize at the third annual Minnesota Delegation Hotdish Competition. 

Rep. Tim Walz's “Hermann the Germann Hotdish” won this year’s “friendly, bipartisan, and bicameral ‘Hot Dish Off.’” The competition among Minnesota’s congressional delegation started in 2011 as a way to celebrate Minnesota before the session started.

This year, McCollum—who represents Woodbury in Minnesota's Fourth Congressional District—entered a “Beef, Beer & Biscuits Hotdish.” Sen. Al Franken cooked “Willmar Stew,” while Sen. Amy Klobuchar prepared “Hormel ‘I Can't Believe It's Not SPAM’ Pepperoni Pizza Hotdish”

Check out the recipes from Walz, McCollum, Franken and Klobuchar below. Click here for recipes from all 10 of Minnesota’s legislators.

Past winners

• 2012: Tie between Sen. Al Franken’s “Mom's Mahnomin Madness Hotdish” and Rep. Chip Cravaack’s “Minnesota Wild Strata”
• 2011: First—Sen. Amy Klobuchar won with her “Taconite Tater Tot Hot Dish”; Runner-up—Rep. Tim Walz’s “Chicken Mushroom Wild Rice Hot Dish”

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Rep. Tim Walz's Hermann the German Hotdish

• 1 package of brats
• 1 bottle Schell's beer
• 1 onion
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 cup of chopped celery
• 1 can cream of cheddar soup
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cups sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 package tater tots.

Bring a pot of water to a boil, add beer, onions and garlic powder. Submerge the brats into the pot and reduce heat to medium and cook for 10 min. Remove and let cool. Butter the casserole dish. Combine remaining ingredients into a separate bowl, minus the tots. Chop up the brats into bite sized pieces and add to the other ingredients. Pour the mixture into the casserole dish, top with tater tots and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees. Sprinkle with cheese for the last 10-15 mins of baking.

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Rep. McCollum's Beef, Beer & Biscuits Hotdish

Ingredients - Beef Stew

• 2 lbs pot roast or stew meat, trimmed and cut into cubes
• 1 tbsp flour
• 3 tbsp oil
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1 cup diced celery
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 bottle Lift Bridge Chestnut Hill Brown Ale
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ tsp thyme
• 1 cup cubed red potatoes 
• 2 tbsp butter 
• 2 tbsp flour
• Salt and ground pepper to taste

Ingredients -- Cheddar Beer Drop Biscuits 

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cubed and chilled
• 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup Summit Maibock

Season beef with salt and pepper and lightly dust with flour. Add oil and butter to a large pot and place over high heat. Add the meat in small batches and turn to brown on all sides. Remove batches to a separate plate and reserve. 
Add onion, carrots and celery to remaining oil over medium high heat until browned, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and tomato paste; cook about two minutes more, stirring frequently. Remove and reserve.
Return beef to the pot and add ale. After beer comes to a boil, reduce heat to maintain a low boil. Reduce the beer by half, about 7-10 minutes. Add the beef broth, bay leaf, and thyme.
Cover and simmer on very low heat for one hour - then add the potato and the browned vegetable mix. Simmer covered for another 30-60 minutes, until meat is tender.
In a small sauce pan over medium-low heat, melt butter and then add flour. Stir continually until flour is cooked through and mixture is a golden color. Slowly add 1 cup of liquid from beef stew, and add this gravy back into the stew pot to thicken, and turn heat to low.
Heat the oven to 350 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 
In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Add the cubed butter and, with your fingers, rub it in until only it resembles very coarse sand. Toss 1 cup of the shredded cheese in the mixture. Make a well into the center and add the buttermilk and beer. Gently fold the ingredients until just combined, about 12 strokes. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the biscuits are just firm to the touch. Remove to a rack.
Place beef stew into 9x13 casserole dish. Top with biscuits. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees, and then place under broiler for 1-2 minutes to brown biscuit tops.

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Sen. Al Franken's Willmar Stew

This is a hearty meal, just the right dish to serve with salad, beer, bread, and a Vikings game.

• 5 or 7 quart dutch oven
• 2 lbs Cannelini beans, soaked over night
• 2 Jennie-O turkey thighs (can substitute 4 duck legs, 4 pheasant legs/thighs)
• 1 lb pork shoulder roast cut into 1" cubes
• 4 pork sausages
• 1 lb thick bacon cut into 1" cubes
• 3 TBS butter
• 3 TBS olive oil
• 1 large onion cut into 1/2" pieces
• 3 carrots cut into 1/2" pieces
• 3 stalks celery cut into 1/2' piece
• 1 whole garlic head, peeled into individual cloves and slices in halves
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 sprigs fresh parsley or equivalent
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme or equivalent
• 3 TBS tomato paste
• 1 to 1 & 1/2 cups peeled tomatoes with liquid, cut into quarters
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Optional: paprika and cayenne pepper
• 2 cups seasoned bread crumbs
• 6 TBS butter

Soak the beans overnight in water, about 2" above beans. Drain, reserving any left over liquid. Set aside. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Prep your meat and vegetable as above. Set aside. Place dutch oven on top of stove. Add 3 TBS butter and 3 TBS in pot. Brown turkey. Set aside. Brown pork shoulder cubes in same fat. Set aside. Drain some of the fat and set aside. Brown pork sausages. Set aside. Render bacon. Set aside. If too much fat has accumulated, pour some off at any time but retain for assembling dish. Put all meats, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, and seasonings in same fat mixture. Stir and cook on medium high heat for 10 minutes. Add tomato paste and tomatoes and beans. Add water until ingredients are covered. Bring to a boil. Salt and pepper to taste. Cover the pot and place in oven at 400 degrees. Cook for 1 to 1 & 1/2 hours, until beans are tender. Check pot after 45 minutes in case mixture is dry so you can add water. When done, add the paprika and cayenne to taste.
6. Reduce oven to 350 degrees. Add bread crumbs in two batches, otherwise they will be soggy. Sprinkle 1 cup bread crumbs drizzled with 3 TBS melted butter. Put in oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Take pot out and press breadcrumbs into stew. Add the other cup of bread crumbs and 3 more TBS melted butter. Turn oven on broil and brown breadcrumbs for 5 to 7 minutes. Your dish is now ready to serve. 

* as adapted from The Amateur Gourmet, Cassoulet in 10 Easy Steps

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Sen. Amy Klobuchar's Hormel "I Can't Believe It's Not SPAM" Pepperoni Pizza Hotdish

• 2 cups sliced Hormel Pepperoni
• 2 pounds hamburger meat
• 1 box Ronzoni rotini pasta
• 1/2 large yellow onion
• 10 1/2 oz can Del Monte pizza sauce
• 15 oz can Del Monte tomato sauce
• 1 cup Kemps milk
• 4 cloves of crushed garlic
• 4 oz Land O' Lakes Mozzarella cheese
• 4 oz Land 0' Lakes 4 Cheese Italian blend
• Oregano, Basil, Italian Seasoning, Salt, Pepper

In a large bowl, combine hamburger meat, diced onion, and crushed garlic. Mix with hands. Add oregano, basil, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper to taste.
Brown the meat, then add 1 cup of pepperoni, tomato sauce, and pizza sauce.
Cook pasta for less time than indicated on the box to prevent noodles from becoming mushy. Drain the pasta, then slowly add the milk and mozzarella cheese. Combine the two mixtures in 9x13 inch pan. Add the Italian cheese and pepperoni. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Remove the foil and cook for 15 more minutes.