President Washington's Morning Corn Cakes

Step 1: The night before, combine 1 cup of the cornmeal, 1 1/2 cups of the lukewarm water, and the yeast in a medium-size nonreactive bowl.

Step 2: Whisk well, the mixture will be thin.

Step 3: Cover bowl tightly and let sit overnight in a warm place.

Step 4: The next morning, whisk in the remaining 1 cup cornmeal, salt, and one large egg.

Step 5: Re-cover the bowl, let it stand 30 minutes (allowing the just-added cornmeal to absorb some of the liquid and soften a little bit).

Step 6: Check the consistency, it should be close to a thin pancake batter, not nearly liquid and not as thick as heavy cream.

Step 7: If you need to, add a little more lukewarm water to achieve this.

Step 8: Heat a cast-iron skillet or griddle over medium-high heat.

Step 9: Oil lightly with a paper towel dipped in oil, or spray with nonstick cooking spray.

Step 10: Stir batter well.

Step 11: Using a ladle, pour 3-4 thin, 3-inch pancakes onto the hot skillet.

Step 12: Batter will spread out fairly thin; if it doesn't sizzle a little as you pour it, skillet isn't hot enough.

Step 13: If it sizzles a lot, you may need to reduce heat.

Step 14: Now watch closely.

Step 15: Almost immediately you'll see little bubbles appear throughout.

Step 16: When the top surface is completely dry and edges are beginning to curling, flip one cake.

Step 17: It should be golden-brown, and nicely speckled. Cook about 1 minute for the first side and 30-50 seconds on the second side.

Step 18: Repeat with remaining cakes and batter.

Step 19: Making sure to stir batter after each turn so it doesn't separate.