One of my favorite things about summer is inviting friends over for a barbecue. There’s nothing better than the smell of a Weber Smokey Joe charcoal grill and fresh citronella candles on the table. This summer, I’ll be treating my guests to a healthy feast served on bold, beautiful melamine dinnerware. I absolutely adore the Jonathan Adler Kaleidoscope collection!

We’ll also be sipping on refreshing sparkling raspberry lemonade while enjoying our time in the sizzling California sunshine. No barbecue is complete without fresh corn on the cob, but since I’ve been on a bit of a baking streak lately, I think I might mix things up a bit with these adorable corn-on-the-cob cupcakes.

Makes 24 cupcakes or 8 “ears of corn”

Ingredients

Vanilla Frosting
Yellow liquid food coloring
24 Vanilla Cupcakes, baked in white paper liners
3 1/2 cups small yellow, cream, or white jelly beans, such as Jelly Belly
4 pieces yellow fruit chews, such as Laffy Taffys or Starbursts
1 tablespoon black decorating sugar
1 tablespoon white decorating sugar
8 sets of corn holders (optional)

From The Martha Stewart Show, April 2008

My mom grew up on a farm in Indiana, the corn capital of the U.S. I grew up eating corn on the cob… ear after ear after delicious, buttery ear of it. I stuffed myself on it. There was none of this “one ear per person” business. That was probably because this treat came to us in late July and August only since that’s when it was ready in our garden. My mom thinks people are crazy to eat corn from the grocery store that’s out of season. Maybe you will too once you taste her recipe.

Here’s how it’s really supposed to go down. You take a big pot, fill it with water and put it on to boil. Then you go outside, pick the corn and shuck it. You put it in the boiling pot of water for one minute only and serve it hot. I thought it was fun to use corn holders as a child, but whatever you do, roll that sweet corn in butter and put salt on it. It’s the best!