The Bojon Gourmet

Prepare things
0 Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 400ºF.
Prep the corn
1 If using fresh corn, stand an ear of corn in a wide, shallow bowl, and use a sharp knife to cut off the kernels. Reverse your knife and scrape the juices from cob into the bowl. Repeat with the remaining cobs and set aside. (Skip this step is using frozen corn.)
Make the batter
2 Heat the milk in a small saucepan over a medium flame until it comes to a rolling simmer, stirring occasionally to prevent it from burning on the bottom or boiling over. Place the cornmeal and salt in a large bowl. When the milk is near boiling, gradually whisk it into the cornmeal (which will thicken and clump and become difficult to whisk, so you may need to switch to a spoon). Stir in the corn kernels, then the chives, 2 ½ cups of the cheese, the jalapeño, and (optional)egg yolks.
3 Place the butter in a 10" oven-proof skillet (see note) and place in the oven to melt. When melted, brush the butter up the sides of the pan.
4 In a spanking clean, dry bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer), whip the egg whites until they hold soft peaks. Quickly stir one-third of the whites into the batter to lighten it, then quickly but gently fold the rest of the whipped whites into the batter until no white streaks remain.
Bake
5 Scrape the batter into the hot, buttered pan, sprinkle with the remaining ½ cup of cheese, and place in the oven. Bake at 400ºF for 35-45 minutes, until the spoon bread is puffed, deeply golden, and set when you give it a wiggle.
6 Serve immediately with a spoon, or let it settle a bit for cleaner slices. 
Storage and make-ahead
12 The spoon bread keeps beautifully, refrigerated, for up to a few days. Feel free to make it a day or two ahead to ease day-of prep. Reheat the baked spoon bread in a 350ºF oven until heated through, 20-30 minutes, before serving.