St. Stephen’s Green

St. Stephen’s Green is a pub in downtown Mountain View. They’ve got a good selection on draft, including: Newcastle, my favorite; Fat Tire, my second-favorite; and Anchor Steam, my third-favorite. Guinness, Blackthorn Cider, Boddingtons, etc.

They serve some good pub food. Amazing thick cut French fries (SK will make the trip down from SF just for them). Other goodness includes: the chicken curry, the beef burger, buffalo wings, and the crispy chicken salad (more fried chicken than lettuce, but that’s not a bad thing!). They serve the wings with ranch instead of blue cheese, which has always struck me as odd, but they’ll substitute the correct dressing if you ask.

To be honest, the main draw of this place to me is their Happy Hour. 5-6:30pm weekdays. Pints are $3.50 for the good ones, $2 for the crap. Many entrees are 40-50% off. The waitstaff is extremely friendly, and they’ll remember your brew of choice if you come in somewhat regularly. It can get quite busy during Happy Hour, so be very direct when flagging down your waitperson.

Another good deal is their lunch specials. $4.99 for certain menu choices (burgers, the curry, some sandwiches) if you eat on their patio (or, I think, in the front room—ask the waitstaff, they once let us sit in there when I felt it was too windy to eat outside comfortably) if you order between 11:30am-12pm.

Here’s something dumb.

Last week I made a box of mac&cheese. I had an extra little container of pico de gallo from Taqueria Los Charros (my favorite burrito place) and threw it in. Oh my god, it was delicious. I know I’m probably the last person to come around to this (I’ve read people singing the praises of Ro-tel many times before), but gosh, it was really good. I was really surprised.

Cinnamon Quick Bread

4 Tbsp butter
1 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup vinegar+milk substitution)
2 cups flour

2 Tbsp butter
1 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp brown sugar

Heat oven to 350. Spray a 9×5 loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. (Optional: put some extra sugar and cinnamon in the bottom and up the sides of the loaf pan.)

Cream butter and sugar together in a stand mixer. Add baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt and mix together. Add vanilla and eggs and mix. Pour the buttermilk in slowly while mixer is running. Add flour 1 cup at a time and mix until you have a smooth batter. Pour into loaf pan.

In empty mixer, combine butter, sugar, and cinnamon into a paste. Dot the loaf with bits of the paste and push them down into the pan.

Bake on a sheet pan (just in case there’s any overflow) in the middle of the oven. Start checking on it after 45 minutes, but it will probably take closer to an hour.

The following recipe is my attempt to turn this cake into a quick bread. I think I did a decent job. I was sort of winging it, because that’s ALWAYS a good idea when baking. I did not feel like whipping egg whites, so I chucked in a whole egg and omitted the oil. I was worried that it’d spill over in the oven, so I put a baking sheet under the loaf pan, but it turned out I needn’t have worried. It rose above the loaf pan and cracked across the top, but all the batter stayed in place. The loaf I made tastes spiced (duh) which is then followed by a very strong wheat flavor from the whole wheat flour. It’s not bad, but I think it’d be more pleasant with AP flour. It’s better after a night of rest, the flavors are melding together better. It’s (not surprisingly) good with tea.

Chai Quick Bread

1/2 cup REALLY STRONG chai tea (black), cooled
2.5 cups flour (I used whole wheat, AP’d be better)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1 Tbsp crystallized ginger, chopped, optional
2 Tbsp cream cheese
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup buttermilk (or equivalent vinegar-milk substitution)
1 egg
cooking spray
Heat oven to 350. Prepare a loaf pan with cooking spray. Cream together butter, cream cheese, and sugars in a large bowl or stand mixer. Add salt, baking soda, cardamom, cinnamon, and ginger (if using) and mix together. Scrape down the sides of the bowl/mixer, and add the egg, tea, and buttermilk. Mix together (yes, it’ll be quite soupy looking). Add the flour in three batches, mixing thoroughly until combined. Pour batter into pan. The batter should fill to about half or 3/4 of an inch to the top. Bake for 1 hour (well, start checking on it after 45 minutes—I think mine took closer to 75, but I was using denser flour and stuff).

I had the best sidecar ever last year at Serpentine. They make theirs with Qi White (which is SO MUCH BETTER than Qi Black, that monstrosity made with Lapsang Souchong). Back at FallFest… 2007, maybe?… I tried a bunch of wines from Quady Winery. They make great stuff. I bought a bottle of Essensia the other day to share with my friend Sylvie, and decided to use the leftovers to make a Sidecar that would hopefully rival the wonderful one I had at Serpentine. I think it worked!

Oh yeah, I’m 30 now. And this blog is six years old. Woo!

Gingery Maple Cookies

(badly cribbed from Cook’s Country)

1 1/2 cup AP flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp table salt
1 tsp ground ginger
1 stick butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tsp maple extract
3 Tbsp minced crystallized ginger
1/4 cup white sugar

Heat oven to 350.

Cream the butter and brown sugar. Mix in the egg, maple syrup, and maple extract. Add the flour, baking soda, salt, ground ginger, and crystallized ginger and mix to combine. Place the white sugar in a bowl. Roll the dough in 1-inch balls, then toss with the sugar to coat. Place on baking sheet, then flatten with a drinking glass (I apparently forgot to copy down this step- mine turned out puffy instead of flat). Bake for 10-12 minutes.