Johnny--I mean Hoecakes!

Today I made some johnny--I mean hoecakes, and man, I can tell you I waited too long to try this!  Apparently Rhode Island has a legal right to to the term "johnnycake," so if anyone asks, we're making hoecakes, ok? Besides, to make the technical muster for this, you need White Cap Flint, and if anyone selling cornmeal to you outside of Rhode Island says they're milling that- they're lying. And probably some people in Rhode Island are lying about it, too.

In the spirit of pleasing all those folks who insist on doing things the same way just because, use fine white cornmeal for johnny---I mean hoecakes, although any kind of fine corn meal will suit. Generally these pancake-crepe-cornbread bits of delicious crispiness tended towards the savory with their pairings, but the possibilities here are as endless as the stuff they are made of, so stay tuned. We're going to throw some real twists on this classic in the next few days.

But tonight, the basics: here's how to make a thin johnny--I mean, hoecake. By the way, this makes 20 cakes or so, so unless you have a lot of folks in your house, you might want to cut it in half.

• 1 cup of milk
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1 cup fine white cornmeal
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 4 tbs. melted butter

Equipment

• Frying pan or griddle
• Whisk
• Spatula

Directions

• Preheat a non-stick frying pan (or a griddle, if you like) and grease it well.
• Whisk the milk into the meal gradually, then the yogurt. Do the same with the butter and salt.
• Carefully pour the batter onto the hot pan until you have a cake about 3 inches in diameter.
• Cook the cake around four minutes, depending on how hot the pan is.
• Flip the cake carefully with a spatula (these things aren't as durable as a pancake, so take care).
• Cook about the same time, taking note of the done-ness of the cooked side to adjust cooking time (you know, use your judgement).
  Enjoy!