What Is the Difference Between Pancakes and Johnnycakes?

When you think of pancakes, you may imagine either childhood weekends or lazy adult brunches. (Or both.) Whether you are a purest who prefers simply butter and syrup, or an intrepid sort who seeks to push boundaries with a wide variety of fruit and confectionary with which to adorn your pancakes, let’s be real—no matter your age, pancakes are really an excuse to eat dessert for breakfast. It’s right there in the name: cake. Nobody is fooled.

But did you know that pancakes are one of the oldest cooked foodstuffs on earth? Nearly every continent, among a vast number of cultures, claims a version of a griddled, starch-based batter cake, whether leavened or unleavened, sweetened or unsweetened, from Slovakia’s palatschinke, to Ethiopia’s injera, to Malaysia’s lempeng, to Brazil’s beiju.

Even in the United States, our beloved pancakes have a number of nicknames: hotcakes, flapjacks, griddle cakes…but wait? Johnnycakes? Sounds kind of familiar. Is that just another flapjack variation or something different?

Having likely grown up with johnnycakes, New Englanders may be losing their minds at this point over the obvious nature of the question. Of course johnnycakes are different! They’re made of corn! (I thought Jimmy cracked corn, though, not Johnny. Whatever. I don’t care.) The rest of us may have casually spotted a recipe on the back of a bag of cornmeal or a box of cornbread mix; if we were paying attention.

Common in all of North America along the Atlantic coast, cornmeal-based johnnycakes are actually America’s first pancake. The flour version we crave at brunch time is actually more of a Scottish variation. Like any other pancake, they can be served sweetened or unsweetened, as a vehicle for sweet or savory components.

As the weekend is upon us, why not check out any of the following recipes for either pancakes or johnnycakes? With cake in the name, you cannot go wrong.

The Classic: Basic Pancakes

Chowhound

The Upgraded: Lemon-Ricotta Pancakes

Chowhound

The I’m-Having-Dessert-for-Breakfast: Carrot Cake Pancakes

Chowhound

The Utterly Ostentatious: Cap’n Crunch Beer Pancakes

Chowhound

The Classic: Basic Johnnycakes

TBSP

The Simple Twist: Zucchini Johnnycakes

A Family Feast

The Pancakes-for-Dinner-Option: Johnnycakes with Peekytoe Crab

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Tamarind and Palm Sugar Popsicles With Chili Salt

Pelon Pelo Rico, then you'll love these popsicles, which are inspired by the sticky, sweet treat. Palm sugar adds a caramelized sweetness to the tart tamarind concentrate that flavors these pops. Just before serving they are dipped in a perky chili salt spiked with malic acid for a tongue-curling bite. Get Recipe!

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Eat Your Way Through the 13 Colonies on July 4th

July 4th is a day made for embracing your patriotic side, setting off fireworks, and, of course, eating like it’s your civic duty. There are plenty of recipes out there that honor the occasion with some sort of food coloring-heavy red, white, and blue dessert thingamajig. But a real American feast takes it to the max. If you really want to express your love of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness through food, only a thirteen part bonanza that pays tribute to the culinary specialties of each of the original colonies will do.

Alright, so most of these dishes would have been unknown to the signers of the Declaration of Independence. I have a feeling, however, that noted gourmand Thomas Jefferson would be a fan of New Haven clam pizza were he still alive. Read on for a menu that he and the other founding fathers would have found to be nothing short of revolutionary.

1. South Carolina: Pimento Cheese

Chowhound

Whether you prefer to plop it on a burger, tuck it into a sandwich, or set it out with crackers while the festivities are getting started, pimento cheese is the South’s gift to cheese lovers everywhere. This version adds a couple twists: chipotle chiles in adobo for a smoky kick, and pepper jack cheese along with the traditional cheddar. Get our Pimiento Cheese recipe.

2. Pennsylvania: Philly Cheesesteak Potato Skins

Chowhound

A trip to Philadelphia revolves around two things: touring Independence Hall (where the Declaration of Independence was signed) and eating a Philly Cheesesteak. Pay homage to both by making these cheesesteak potato skins, which declare independence by revolutionizing and reinventing the iconic sandwich. Get our Philly Cheesesteak Potato Skins recipe.

3. New York: Easy Grilled Buffalo Wings

Chowhound

Although the Buffalo wing originated in its namesake city, nowadays, it has its place as an all-American snacking staple. They’re usually deep fried, but you can make them extra American by throwing them on the grill (because if there is anything more American than deep fried everything, it’s char-grilled everything, right?). Get our Easy Grilled Buffalo Wings recipe.

4. Delaware: Strawberry Salad with Grilled Chicken

The Noshery

Delaware doesn’t really have a definitive dish that it can call its own. But since this list is pretty lacking on things that are green and healthy, let’s use this spot as an excuse to slip in a salad. Plus, it’s not totally out of place: strawberries are Delaware’s state fruit, while the commercial chicken industry has its origins in the state’s Sussex county (which is still the largest broiler producing county in the nation). Get the recipe here.

5. Connecticut: Grilled Pizzas with Clams and Bacon

Martha Stewart

The clam pie can be traced back to one place: legendary New Haven pizza joint Pepe’s. If you can’t make the pilgrimage, it’s also a pizza worth recreating at home. Bonus points for cooking this one on the grill. Get the recipe here.

6. Virginia: Grilled Glazed Ham

Meatwave

For the big and meaty main, it doesn’t get much better than a smoky Virginia ham. This recipe finishes it off with a sweet Coca-Cola-based glaze. Get the recipe here.

7. New Jersey: Italian Style Hot Dogs

Food Network

Do you seriously call a wiener boiled in some cloudy water and topped with a meager squiggle of ketchup a hot dog? Fuggedaboutit. Loaded up with potatoes, peppers, and onions, these dogs have lots of big Jersey personality to spare. Get the recipe here.

8. Massachusetts: Lobster Rolls

Chowhound

Maine was a part of Massachusetts up until 1820, when it opted to split. Even if the two states are no longer together, they are still linked by their seafaring cuisine. From Portland to Boston and all up and down the New England coast, the lobster roll is a must eat in the summertime. (If you’re a fan of the mayo-free version, get this Lobster Roll recipe, but for a creamier take, click the next link.) Get our New England Lobster Roll recipe.

9. Maryland: Basic Steamed Blue Crabs

Chowhound

Maryland can lay claim to many uber-American things: the lyrics to The Star Spangled Banner, the films of John Waters, and crabs, lots of crabs. Ideally, you’d pound at these while belting out the national anthem and doing your best Divine impersonation all at the same time. Get our Basic Steamed Blue Crabs recipe.

10. New Hampshire: Spiced Apple Cupcakes with Maple Buttercream Frosting

Chowhound

New Hampshire may get drowned out by its attention-grabbing neighbor Vermont when it comes to food, but it still offers all those quintessentially New England flavors that we know and love. These cupcakes feature Granite State favorites like apples and maple syrup. Get our Spiced Apple Cupcakes with Maple Buttercream Frosting recipe.

11. Georgia: Peach Pie with Pecan Streusel

Chowhound

Down south, it’s the peach and the pecan that reign supreme. This dessert has a bit of both, for a confection that’s full of southern charm. Get our Peach Pie with Pecan Streusel recipe.

12. Rhode Island: Frozen Lemonade

Super Healthy Kids

Rhode Island may be tiny, but it has a lot going on for it food-wise: quahog stuffies, johnnycakes, coffee milk, and more. But come summertime, the state’s signature source of brainfreeze, the frozen lemonade, is where it’s at. Get the recipe here.

13. North Carolina: Cheerwine Bourbon Cocktail

Beautiful Booze

North Carolina’s Cheerwine may not have any alcohol in it, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be jazzed up with a little booze. Its cherry-flavored fizz provides a nicely fruity and sugary backdrop to bourbon and a squeeze of lime. Get the recipe here.

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You Can Now Make Your Very Own Unicorn Cake

You don’t have to be made of magic to make a unicorn layer cake, but you do need a mountain of sprinkles and a flair for the dramatic to create this epic internet-inspired treat. My latest cookbook, “Unicorn Food: Magical Recipes for Sweets, Treats, and Eats,” is a celebration of unicorns, glitter, and rainbows and was inspired by this very Instagram-worthy trend.

To make a Unicorn Layer Cake, start with baking the actual layers into the six colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. Stack them high, ice the cake with plain white frosting, and allow to chill before decorating. To create the unicorn, you need an edible gold-gilded horn, fondant ears, frosting for the mane and eyes, and sprinkles, small cookies, and other extras to decorate to the max. Read more on how to create this magical masterpiece to impress your guests of any ages!

Unicorn Horn

To create the horn, cover a standard ice cream cone with fondant or white chocolate and varnish it with gold luster dust. Alternatively, build a horn with fondant by spiraling one rope of fondant with a wooden skewer to hold it in place. If fondant isn’t your friend, you can cut out a unicorn horn–shaped cookie and glaze with gold luster dust.

Unicorn Ears

Create fondant teardrop shapes for ears and for eyes by rolling out fondant to ¼-inch thick slabs and using a paring knife to create the desired shape (sort of a rounded triangle). Gently shape the fondant into ears and allow to dry out for a few hours before placing it onto the top of the cake to avoid drooping. Alternatively, use craft foam sheets to cut out ears—just be sure to remove them before digging in.

For the Mane

For the mane, swirl colored frosting or place twirled sour candy belts to create beautiful locks around the horn and down along the sides of the cake as desired. Dusting with edible glitter is definitely advised.

Extras & Flair

Fill a pastry bag with black icing and use a thin piping tip to draw two half-moon lines on the side of the cake for eyes, complete with voluminous eyelashes (see photo for reference). For extra effects, decorate your cake to the max with store-bought macaroons and mini star cookies and go crazy with glitter, sprinkles, and edible star candies. Decorate the cake to your unicorn heart’s true desires! The most successful decor plays with a variety in shape, size, and texture to create dimension.

Get the full Unicorn Layer Cake recipe here.

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What Is the Difference Between Barbecuing and Grilling?

4th of July is right around the corner — will you be grilling or barbecuing? Funny enough, most people don’t know the difference between these two outdoor (sometimes indoor) cooking methods. But believe it or not, they are quite different.

When you think of grilling, think of that quick and easy summer meal that satisfies your hungry crowd of guests in less than an hour — like throwing some chicken legs on the grill to sear up fast, with high and direct heat. If you’re not a chicken person, some other meats compatible with grilling are steaks, pork chops, hamburgers/hot dogs, or seafood. If you don’t eat meat at all, vegetables are great for grilling, too!

Grilling might be easy, but the fast cooking process means your food can be easily burned, so it’s important to keep an eye on the grill.

Barbecuing, on the other hand, means you’re cooking your food low and slow. Rather than using direct heat— like with grilling — the smoke produced from the burning of wood or coal fuels the BBQ cooking process. This is a typical style for cuts of meat like ribs and brisket. It can take up to a few hours, but patience is rewarded with tender, juicy, melt-in-your-mouth meat that can only be accomplished with this method. Just be sure to keep your guests happy with some snacks while they’re anxiously waiting.

While (almost) anyone can grill up a burger, barbecuing is more commonly reserved for the more experienced cooks and patient members of family gatherings — “usually, Uncle Larry,” says cookbook author Matt Lee.

If you’re the “Uncle Larry” of your family or just want to put your expert cooking skills to the test, here are some of our favorite barbecue recipes:

BBQ Baby Back Pork Ribs

Chowhound

These down-home flavor ribs require an oven-to-grill method, but with their rich glaze and flavorful spice rub, the two-method cooking process will be well worth it in the end. You can prepare the ribs up to two days in advance to save some time on the day you’re serving them. Get our Easy BBQ Baby Back Pork Ribs recipe.

BBQ Turkey

Chowhound

It doesn’t need to be Thanksgiving to roll out the big ol’ BBQ turkey — it’ll be a hit whatever time of year. For this recipe, you’ll need a charcoal grill to cook your turkey slowly for tender, juicy meat. You’ll never want to cook turkey in the oven again. Get our BBQ Turkey recipe.

If you’re not the “Uncle Larry” of the group, here are some recipes for grilling, instead:

Grilled Chile Salmon with Lime Crema

Chowhound

Spoil your guests with some fresh salmon, paired with a tasty and refreshing cream, citrus, and herb-based sauce. This dish takes less than ten minutes to make and you end up with deliciously moist salmon with a nice crispy skin. Get our Grilled Chile Salmon with Lime Crema recipe.

Grilled Sweet Potatoes

Chowhound

This sweet and smoky side will enhance any meal. Get our Grilled Sweet Potatoes recipe.

Grilled Chicken Breasts with Balsamic Rosemary Marinade

Chowhound

Chicken is a popular go-to grilling food and always a crowd pleaser. This grilled chicken with a balsamic rosemary marinade is sure to be just as delicious as it is easy to make. To ensure the chicken absorbs the marinade completely, you may want to let your chicken sit for a few hours or overnight before throwing them on the grill (the easy part). Get our Grilled Chicken Breasts with Balsamic Rosemary Marinade recipe.

Grilled Eggplant Parmesan Salad

Chowhound

Who says grilling is just for meat? You can also add some smoky flavor and texture to your vegetables. This recipe involves quickly grilling some bread, tomatoes, and eggplant before combining them together for a tasty salad. Get our Grilled Eggplant Parmesan Salad recipe.

— Head photo illustration by Chowhound, using: flickr/flickr.

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What Is the Difference Between Sardines and Anchovies?

You probably pass by tins of these fish in the grocery store all the time. They’re tiny, often canned, slicked in oil, and sit side-by-side on supermarket shelves. But as similar as they may seem, sardines and anchovies are actually two distinctly different fish. Allow us to give you the breakdown on these slimy species.

Let’s start with sardines. They’re a group of oily fish native to the Mediterranean, once commonly found near the Italian island of Sardinia (hence their similar sounding name). There are at least 18 species of the fish, which is a member of the Clupeidae family, which also includes their larger cousin, herrings.

Anchovies are also small and oily, but that’s basically where the similarities end. While they’re also Mediterranean natives, they can also be found in northern waters close to Scandinavia. There are also more than 140 species of anchovies and they belong to the Engraulidae family of fish.

In terms of appearance, there are also some stark differences. Sardines are an average of two inches longer, have a protruding lower jaw, and white flesh. Meanwhile, anchovies are shorter and darker, marked by red and gray colors that are often effects of the curing process.

That brings us to the most pivotal difference: taste. Because they’re dried in salt during the aforementioned curing process, anchovies have a far more intense flavor—one that’s resulted in their notoriously polarizing reputation, especially when it comes to pizza toppings. Sardines, however are known to be a mellower choice when it comes to tinned fish options.

Now that we’ve established the basic similarities and differences, it’s time to try these great recipes with the frequently mixed-up fishes. Dive in!

Roasted Sardines with Smashed Potatoes

Chowhound

Kalamata olives, garlic, and lemon are simple yet perfect seasonings that elevate any sardine dinner. Serve with a side of smashed potatoes to complete your meal. Get our Roasted Sardines with Smashed Potatoes recipe.

Sardine, Sun-Dried Tomato, and Bacon Club Sandwich

Chowhound

BLTs get a major upgrade and an extra fishy kick with the addition of sardines. It might not sound like the most intuitive fit, but trust us: Everything goes better with bacon. Get out Sardine, Sun-Dried Tomato, and Bacon Club Sandwich recipe.

Montaditos with Boquerones and Olive Relish

Chowhound

Bouquerones are a species of anchovy known for their tender white meat. The Spanish fish pairs particularly well with olive relish and a crusty baguette. Get our Montaditos with Boquerones and Olive Relish recipe.

Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe, Red Pepper Flakes, and Anchovies

Chowhound

Pungent broccoli rabe and pasta are a perfect combination. Throw in a few anchovies and red pepper flakes and you have a one-pot meal for the ages. Get our Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe, Red Pepper Flakes, and Anchovies recipe.

Braised Lacinato Kale with Tomato and Anchovy Soffritto

Anchovies are a perfect seasoning for kale. This recipe will teach you how to blanche the leafy green just right so you can make the ultimate side dish. Get our Braised Lacinato Kale with Tomato and Anchovy Soffritto recipe.

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