Serve with salsa, sour cream, yogurt, or aioli, with a sliced tomato on the side

 5 medium ears corn, husks and silk removed
1 large shallot, finely chopped
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 large eggs, beaten lightly
1/2 cup milk or half-and-half
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons pepper, or to taste
1 cup minus 2 tablespoons flour
Corn, vegetable, or canola oil for cooking 

Set the oven rack to the center position and heat to 250.  Break each ear of corn in half.  On a cutting board, stand half an ear on the broken end, and using a chef’s knife, cut the kernels off 2 1/2 ears (you should have about 3 cups of kernels).  Place the kernels in a large bowl.  Grate the kernels from the remaining ears on the large holes of a box grater (you should have about 1 cup of grated kernels), and add to the whole kernels.  Stir the shallot, parsley, eggs, milk, baking powder, salt, and pepper into the corn until well blended.  Add the flour, and using a large spoon, fold it into the corn mixture. 

In a large, nonstick skillet, heat 1 1/2tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat.  When the oil is hot, measure 1/4 cup of the corn batter and pour it into the pan to form a disk about 3 inches in diameter;  repeat until the pan is filled, leaving about 1 inch between cakes.  Cook without moving (adjust the heat if pan becomes too hot) until the bottoms are golden, about 3 minutes.  Using a spatula, flip the cakes.  Cook about 2 minutes more.  Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels and set in the warm oven.  Repeat with the remaining batter.  Serve warm.

Variations:  Basil and Parmesan:  Substitute 6 tablespoons chopped basil for the parsley and add 3/4 cup grated Parmesan with the flour. 

Scallion and Cheddar: Substitute 6 tablespoons tin-sliced scallions for parsley and add 3/4 cup grated cheddar with the flour.  

– from the Boston Globe 9/19/07