YouTube Idols and a Fresh Grilled Corn Salad

It's been about five years since the first time I put pen-to-paper so to speak and began writing about my cooking experiences. There was been a lot of changes in those five years, different social media sources, those clever super sped up cooking videos, and YouTube. YouTube is a goldmine of information and videos to watch, everything from a short clip of a single recipe to fully produced 30 minute "shows" by everyone from amateurs to professional chefs getting in on it. During the last year I really got to thinking of YouTube as a great way to keep up with some of my personal favorites, like Rachel Khoo, since I am rarely able to catch her shows on American satellite tv, and a YouTube favorite, Hilah Cooking. The brainchild of Texas cook and YouTube sensation Hilah Johnson, Hilah Cooking is a fun and "real woman" cooking show and companion blog that I find highly entertaining! Besides her great sense of humor, her recipes are killer! Hilah makes real food- fresh, pretty much in live-time and her recipes are not filled with pricey ingredients, she doesn't use an army of ridiculously expensive and unnecessary tools and gadgets, and the finished dishes look like something I want to eat. Right now. 

Recently I watched a Hilah Cooking video in which Hilah was making a fresh corn salad, starting with slightly charred ears of fresh corn. Raw corn. Still sweet and juicy and touched by a little grill heat to give you just a few bits of grilled taste. Her video is hilarious, taking a jab at that current Pinterest trendy phrase "Mexican street corn" and bringing out the giggles in me. I would soooo love to hang out with this woman! Her recipe sounded delicious, with that corn that's not really cooked. I was immediately convinced I needed to make this- or something a lot like it. I mean, come on, I am a Minnesota turned Iowa girl after all- we are all about the corn. Hilah's recipe sounds totally delicious with a nice kick of heat from those fresh Serrano chilies. I am going to switch up her recipe a bit and add some avocado maybe or even toss some pan seared scallops in there to make it an entree salad. I cheated and roasted my corn and scallions over the burner on my gas range- worked like a charm! Here is how I did it.

Tex Mex Iowa Sweet Corn Salad with Scallops

4 ears fresh Iowa sweet corn
3 scallions
1 Jalapeno or Serrano chili
1 cup halved heirloom cherry tomatoes
1 avocado, cut into cubes
1 package large scallops, thawed if frozen
1 tablespoon chili powder
3 limes
1/2 cup cotija cheese
1/4 olive oil, plus more
2 cloves garlic, grated
salt and pepper
1 package arugula
1 small bunch fresh cilantro

Clean the ears of corn, removing as much of the silk as possible. Rub each ear of corn with a small drizzle of olive oil, season with salt and pepper and set aside. Heat a grill to high, or heat a heavy skillet or grill pan over high heat. Add the corn and grill over high heat, turning so that you get char on all sides. Set corn aside to cool. Throw the scallions on there for a just a minute or two to get some char marks and flavor. Set them aside. 

Place the scallops in a bowl and squeeze half of one of the limes and a tablespoon of olive oil over and sprinkle with the chili powder. 

Sear the scallops in a hot skillet until just cooked and they have the beautiful golden brown crust. Remove to a plate and set aside.

This is the golden brown sear you're looking for.

Cut the corn off the cobs and discard the cobs. Place the corn in a large bowl, add the tomatoes, avocado, and the scallions, which have been chopped. Add a handful of chopped cilantro.

In a small bowl or jar, juice the remaining limes. For an intense lime flavor you can also add some of the zest to the dressing. Whisk in the 1/4 cup olive oil, grated garlic and salt and pepper to taste. 

Cotija cheese crumbles like a charm.

Drizzle half the dressing over the vegetables, toss to coat everything, then add the cheese, toss again, and serve the corn salad on top of a handful of arugula with remaining dressing on the side. Top the salad with the scallops.

So fresh! This is a great party recipe for when you are having friends over on a summer evening- very limited indoor cooking IF you go the skillet route and lots of fresh flavors. Like that super trendy, if not slightly irritating recipe for Mexican street corn, this dish has a TexMex hint of flavor but it's totally Iowa with that crunchy sweet corn. I love it because it doesn't have any mayonnaise in the recipe, and I find the whole idea of cooking mayo on an ear of corn completely yuck. I hope you'll try it. 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 55: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Iowa Corn Pudding

September and October is an odd time in Iowa. Take a drive out to the countryside and you will see weird sights. Alien looking vehicles with lights all over, stirring up the dust in the fields. It's harvest time in Iowa. 

I might be a city girl, but I definitely live in an agriculture state. For over 150 years, farmers in Iowa have chosen corn as one of their main crops. In a typical year Iowa farmers produce over 100 billion pounds of corn. Used for food, animal feed, exports, fuel production, and so much more, field corn is THE major crop in this state. For comparison, the sweet corn we all love so much is less than one percent of that total. That was a little hard for me to comprehend considering all the corn stands and corn festivals we have every summer. 

I absolutely love the corn festivals and corn stands. Pulling up to the stand on a warm summer day, loading a few dozen ears of sweet corn into the car and heading home for a day of shucking, blanching, cutting and freezing is absolutely one of my favorite things to do. It's like filling the freezer with summertime. I like to pack one quart bags full of cut corn. It freezes quickly and is easy to measure out of the bag if I need a smaller amount for a recipe. I have tried canning corn at home but the lengthy processing time and high temp int he pressure canner causes the sugars in our very sweet Iowa corn to caramelize. The corn browns slightly and gets a slight burnt sugar taste. With freezing the corn retains its fresh taste and texture.

Bags of summertime, ready for the freezer.

Harvest time is also holiday time, with Thanksgiving right at the end of the season. My family always asks for scalloped corn for Thanksgiving, and I've always made my mom's recipe. Simple and easy, made with store bought canned creamed corn, eggs and saltines it's quite tasty with a browned crunchy cracker crust on top and creamy corn filling. This year I decided to step it up a few notches and pass on the commercial canned corn and use frozen sweet corn, creamy half and half, a hint of cheese and scallions. That crunchy cracker crust will still be there just like Mom's.

Iowa Corn Pudding

6 cups fresh corn kernels

6 scallions, minced

3/4 cup finely shredded Colby Jack cheese

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup half and half
1/2 cup sour cream

salt and pepper

1 cup crumbled saltines, divided

4 tbs melted butter, divided, plus more for dish

Generously butter a 2 quart baking dish. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl combine the corn, scallions and cheese. Mix in the eggs, half and half, sour cream and 1/2 cup cracker crumbs. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the butter.

Pour into baking dish. Toss remaining cracker crumbs with remaining butter and sprinkle over the top. Bake for 50 minutes until puffed and golden brown.

Sprinkle with sliced scallion tops to garnish, if desired.

The pudding puffs up during baking and has a delicious custardy texture that's so much better than the old style creamed corn in a can. The cheese adds just a bit of depth and the scallions bring in just enough savory to keep that Iowa sweet corn from being too desserty. This delightful dish is going to be a regular on my family's holiday table from now on!

Iowa Sweet Corn Gets Some Latin Lovin'

Photo from Iowa On A Plate

Here in Iowa we know a thing or two about sweet corn. How to grow it, cook it, sell it. We celebrate sweet corn with annual festivals devoted to this tasty summer treat. At the State Fair roasted ears of corn are gobbled up by hungry fairgoers by the ton. Growing up in Iowa it wasn't unusual to have a dinner of just a huge pot of freshly cooked sweet corn, dressed up with only butter and salt. Oh my yum. Much loved by people all over, sweet corn is often used in non-traditional foods such as sweet corn sodas and ice cream, even candy. 

Driving around Iowa you will see acre after acre of corn. This corn is used for all sorts of things- animal feed, food, fuel production, but it's not sweet corn. Iowa produces thousands of acres of sweet corn annually. There are hundreds of different cultivars, some heirloom and some hybrids. Some of the heirlooms are hundreds of years olds, as sweet corn was first identified in the late 1700s. Peaches and Cream is a very popular variety around Iowa, as is Silver Queen, and this year I have even seen pink sweet corn in the stores. 

Here is a fun fact: Did you know there is one strand of silk for every kernel on the ear of corn? 

Laura Duffield Beigger makes
a spicy corn stock with jalapeno

So sweet corn. While so many of us love our corn drenched in butter and salt, corn is getting some gourmet treatment these days. Far far away from Iowa, different cultures and different cuisines use our beloved sweet corn in many interesting and delicious dishes. Many Latin dishes, for example, use corn, ground, as flour and kernels. Mexican street corn is often roasted in the husks, and then peeled back and sprinkled with seasonings and queso fresco or cojita before serving. Corn is roasted and charred and cut off the cobs to toss in salads and salsas. Corn cobs get recycled into corn cob jelly and corn stock for delicious soups and sauces. My friend Laura Biegger recently made corn stock with some jalapeno for kick- I think this would be a fantastic base to build an awesome seafood chowder. Let's take a look at a couple unique ways to use Iowa sweet corn in recipes, this time with a Latin twist.

Up first is a fantastic recipe from local restaurateur George Formaro. His Malo restaurant in Des Moines is an upscale Latin spot in the heart of downtown and brings a fresh and unique perspective to Mexican and South American dishes. We have visited Malo a couple times, you might remember. Their Corn Queso is a very special twist on a classic Mexican snack and brings the much loved fresh Iowa sweet corn into the spotlight. While Malo uses a locally sourced frozen corn, you could easily substitute freshly cut sweet corn as a replacement. They graciously shared this recipe on their Facebook page a while back.

Malo's Corn Queso

1 lb easy melting cheese such as Queso Seguro or Velveeta

4 cups Iowa Choice Harvest frozen sweet corn

1 cup water

1 lime, juice and zest

1 tbs salt

1 tbs extra virgin olive oil

3 tbs crumbled Cojita cheese, queso fresco is a suitable alternative

Using a food processor, puree the corn with the water until completely smooth. Heat the olive oil in saucepot and add pureed corn. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. Allow mixture to simmer and reduce to a creamy consistency. 

Once a light pudding texture is reached, combine with salt, lime juice and zest and puree/process to eliminate any possible lumps. 

Melt the cheese over low heat until smooth. Fold in the corn mixture. Pour into a heat resistant serving bowl and top with crumbled Cojita cheese. Broil until the Cojita is browned and golden. Serve with tortilla chips. 

At Malo they use the corn pudding mixture in other dishes, and as a sauce for crab cakes.

Another popular use for fresh corn is salsa. The old days of nothing but tomato-based salsa are long over. Veggies and fruits of all kinds end up in salsa, sweet and savory alike. While I do love a good traditional salsa I'm a huge fan of corn salsa and black bean salsa. Combine the two and I'm in heaven! This salsa is easy to whip up for a party and if you had a lot of leftovers, you could pop it in the freezer for longer storage. I love it with chips and as a condiment for other foods, like enchilada, tacos and so on.

Deb Campbell's beautiful Iowa sweet corn, ready for the pot

Roasted Fresh Sweet Corn and Black Bean Salsa

2 ears fresh corn

olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped sweet bell pepper (I use a combo of colors)

1-2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

fresh Jalapeno pepper to taste*

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice

zest of one lime

pinch of salt and pepper

dash of cumin, if desired

* I start with one Jalapeno and taste for heat. I also sometimes use any other hot pepper I might have around, including some of the super hots. Do so with caution!

Shuck the corn and wash well, removing all the silks. Rub the corn with a small bit of olive oil and roast the ears over a hot grill or under the broiler until some of the kernels are caramelized and golden. Set aside to cool. 

When cool enough to handle, slice the corn from the cobs and place in a bowl. Toss with all remaining ingredients. Taste for seasoning and adjust salt and pepper as needed. This salsa is also delicious with a diced avocado added. and piled in a taco salad. 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 55: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."