6 Ingredient Corn Souffle & Iowa CornQuest 2016

6 Ingredient Corn Souffle is an easy hearty side dish that's perfect for any occasion! 

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending the #IACornQuest in Iowa! I was able to learn so much about Iowa Corn including visiting actual farms, riding in a combine, talking to farmers, and seeing how it’s processed. It was a really fun trip, and I can’t imagine I would have ever been able to do something like this if I weren’t a food blogger! One of the highlights of the trip was visiting Whisk Away Café, where Chef Laura Prichard teaches cooking classes, and taught us a few things about corn. We worked together to make this delicious 6 Ingredient Corn Souffle, and now today, I am sharing her Grandmother’s recipe with you!

Before we dive straight into the recipe, I want to share a little more about the trip with you. I arrived in Moline Iowa and then drove over to Davenport. Davenport is a larger city in Iowa, and sits right along the river. We stayed at Hotel Blackhawk, which was gorgeous and even had a bowling alley in the basement (how cool is that?!). Rumors spread around that the hotel is even haunted on the 4th floor..and lucky me, I was staying on the 4th floor! I didn’t have any experience with any hauntings, but I did have a great stay at the hotel. We headed to dinner on a really fun trolley, which took up to the Mississippi River Distilling Company.

 

During a delicious dinner, we learned from several people about corn ethanol production and how it compares to other fuels.  I had never learned much about this, so it was very interesting and I was able to ask a lot of questions. We also chatted with local farmers about the Iowa Corn Organization, and they elaborated on different things they do within the organization. The cocktails were flowing and we were able to sample their signature cocktail as well as different alcohols that are produced using corn!

Waking up early the next morning, we headed to the Hotel Blackhawk conference room for a fun breakfast with The American Lung Association, Iowa Corn and Annette, a local farmer.  We heard about different benefits that come from corn production, and Annette shared with us her family history. She is a corn farmer and this is not a traditional roll for a woman, but she has broken down barriers and opened a new door for women today to really be accepted as farmers. She was hysterical and so easy to talk with; I really enjoyed hearing her farming stories!

After breakfast we hopped on a bus and headed to Whisk Away Café in DeWitt, where Laura Prichard teaches cooking classes! We were in for a treat!

   

We made several different recipes including the corn souffle I am posting today, and delicious corn husk apple tamales…so yum! While we were cooking, we heard from Dr. Ruth McDonald, a Professor and Chair at Iowa State University, who explained all about GMO’s to our group. It was interesting because all you ever hear is how GMOs are bad, but it seems like that’s not the case at all. We also heard some different things about organic farming vs. regular farming, and that was enlightening as well.

Next up, visiting the actual farm! This was so cool! We were able to take a ride on an actual combine and tractor, then hear all about what it’s like to be a real corn farmer! The family was so gracious and it seems like a really great life!

That’s me, coming out of the combine!

The farmer and his daughter are above on the far left, and then the rest of the bloggers who attended #IACornQuest 2016 are along the front of the combine! You may even recognize some of your favorite bloggers!

Hanging out on the farm, I realized how small I really am compared to all of this! Iowa farms so much corn, it’s insane the amount that comes out of this state! After the farm tour, we headed out to the Gallagher’s farm, who hosted us for a real tailgate dinner! They made the best homemade French fries and I couldn’t get enough of them! The next day we wrapped up our tour by going to Kent, a Grain Processing Center. We learned a lot of science and technical details behind nutritional science and developing nutritional solutions.  Kent is one of the leading manufacturers and worldwide marketers of corn-based products. It was very interesting!

Okay, now I know you have been dying for the 6 Ingredient Corn Souffle Recipe, so I won’t hold out on you any longer!

I will be sharing another #IACornQuest 2016 inspired recipe with you in a few weeks and I can’t wait! Get ready for some major corn yummies!
Want to hear more about #IACornQuest 2016?! Check out this awesome video recap from Iowa Corn!

You can also connect with me here:

Thanks for visiting!

- Allyson

 

 I had the pleasure of working with Iowa Corn on this post. All opinions expressed are my own.