Makes 36 Servings

Ingredients:
6 ears of fresh sweet corn on the cob
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 cup cheese of your choice, grated
½ pkg (4 oz) cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup maple syrup
¾ cup (1 small) yellow onion, diced
2 ribs of celery, finely diced
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped
2 Tablespoons snipped fresh cilantro or flat-leaf parsley
1 lime, juice
1 Tbsp Paprika
1/4 cup homemade Emeril’s Essence (recipe here)
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
36+ Tortilla scoops (these break easily, so have extras on hand)

Directions:
1. Cook ears of corn by your favorite method, and cut kernels off the cob, or, thaw frozen corn
2. Saute onions in olive oil until translucent, then remove from heat
3. In the same skillet, cook the corn until charred, set aside to cool
4. In a medium bowl, combine mayonnaise, cheese, maple syrup, and cream cheese until smooth
5. Stir in corn, onion, celery, cilantro, tomatoes, lime juice, and Emeril’s Essence
6. Refrigerate until time to serve
7. To assemble, place a heaping teaspoon of the mixture into each tortilla scoop
8. Sprinkle with paprika, and garnish with cilantro or parsley leaves

This appetizer is based on our salad, and made a little drier so it doesn’t make the tortilla scoops soggy. If corn is out of season in your area, you can also make this recipe with 3 (12 oz) bags of frozen corn kernels, (thawed), or, 2 (15 oz) cans of sweet corn kernels, drained. To add more smokiness, also char, or blacken the skin, on the tomatoes.