An Average Joe in San Antonio

It’s officially summer with Fourth of July right around the corner which means time for picnics, block parties, and get togethers.  I know that a lot of times you might be asked to bring a dessert to one of these functions and you just might not have the time or desire to create something.

You end up going towards the prepackaged cookie section (heck, even if you get the chocolate cookies made in the store bakery, people know that they are still store bought), show up with the dessert that no one touches because it is not homemade, and end up going home with 22 of the 25 store bought cookies that even you don’t want.

There is a simple solution to this, Mama Heath’s famous Lemonade Ice Cream Pie!  Now, I don’t know if the recipe originated with her or not, but I really don’t care.  I always looked forward to summer because that meant it was time for Lemonade Ice Cream Pie.  I mean, it just tastes like summer and is perfect for all the shindigs you are going to.  The best thing yet, it is super easy to make (roughly 10-15 minutes of prep) and all your friends will think it is amazing.  Trust me.

Ingredients:

• ½ gallon of Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla (don’t skimp out and get the off brand, you can tell)
• 1 can of Minute Maid Pink Lemonade from concentrate
• 1 large Keebler graham cracker crust
• 1 smaller Keebler graham cracker crust

Step 1: Drive home from the grocery store in the Texas summer heat.  Don’t fret if you hit a couple of stop lights on the way home as this will make Step 2 much easier on you.

Step 2: Get a big mixing bowl and dump the starting-to-melt ice cream in it along with the can of pink lemonade that is equally melted from the searing outside heat.

Step 3: Get a spoon and mix, mix, mix (I guess you could cheat and use beaters, but come on, it is soft ice cream and isn’t worth making more of a mess to clean up).  You will want to mix where two things happen: (i) there are no pockets of pure white or bright pink but instead a consistent pale pink color throughout and (ii) it is pretty creamy and smooth.

Step 4: Dump the mixture into the graham cracker crusts and smooth out the top with the spatula.

(Step 4b: Lick the bowl and spatula clean.)

You want the color to be this light pink; mmmm, I am getting hungry just looking at the picture.

Again, Steps 1-4 should take you all of 10 to 15 minutes and the payoff will be worth it.

Step 5: Put it in the freezer for like 2.5 to 3 hours to refreeze.  Serve and enjoy!

I will admit, just like the Cranberry Jalapeño Salsa recipe for Christmastime, the name does kind of sound gross.  However, you will find that the taste is light and crisp with a little bit of tartness.  The cold is refreshing on a hot summer day or evening – one bite and you will agree that it tastes like summer.

For like 15 minutes of time and roughly $10-$12 worth of products, you will make two Lemonade Ice Cream Pies that will not only be “made from scratch” but also be the hit of the party.

Share on Facebook

The great thing about having this website is that a lot of my friends give me suggestions on where to eat and what to order.   One such friend had suggested that I visit El Mirador the previous day, and since I had my parents in town, I decided to go there and try something new for the both of us.  (Coincidentally, a lot of people have panned me for not having bad reviews; I think I have had a couple now, but I am (1) trying to write about some of my favorites mixed in with new restaurants I hear about and (2) when folks find out about my website they most often suggest a place that they think is great and so I go try it.  I guess it is due to the fact that I have friends with good taste that I don’t have a lot of bad things to say!)

My friend Mike had told me that there are three things you have to try at El Mirador: the empanada as an appetizer, the house margarita, and the puffy tacos.  I decided to take his advice verbatim and did just that.

First, the empanada is a jumbo size that could give 3-4 people a nice appetizer before lunch.  It is stuffed with chicken, cheese, a mushroom that grows on corn, some sauce, and topped with a poblano cream sauce.  It is served over a salad that had a nice house vinaigrette dressing and red bell peppers and jicama.   I don’t typically order appetizers, but not only did Mike stress that I should get this, the waiter also said that the restaurant is renowned for it – I was not led astray!  The empanada was absolutely amazing and was just jam packed with flavor.  The cream sauce had a nice bite to it, but the spice was cut by the salad.  I think I would just like to order it as a meal for myself!

Do not come here and leave with out ordering this empanada! It is amazing!

The house margarita was pretty good; it was not overly syrupy and had a nice fresh taste to it.  Again, I think it complimented the empanada and the chips and salsa.  The salsa was slightly roasted and was served in a little carafe so that you could refill the bowl yourself.  The chips were multicolored; I always like that.

I will say that while the puffy tacos were good (and surprisingly stayed together (it is my theory that you have like 20 seconds to try to eat a puffy taco when the waiter brings it to you before they split open)), they were also kind of unmemorable compared to my parents dishes.  The charro beans on the other hand were awesome and a true highlight of the dish.

The puffy tacos were good, but I would suggest Diane's or Jessica's plates.

My dad got, what I thought, was the best meal at the table, the Jessica Enchiladas.  They were chicken enchiladas topped with the same poblano sauce as the empanada.  I think I would like to order that next time.

Finally, to conclude the meal, the waiter brought us a tres leches cake for dessert.  Now, I love tres leches cake since it was introduced to me when I moved to San Antonio a while back.  The tres leches at El Mirador has to be the absolute best in the city.  It is amazingly sweet, swimming in some evaporated milk, and has some homemade whipped cream to top it off.  Get a cup of coffee and you will be loving life.

Value: 9.5/10 (dinner entrees run around $10 – $12 and are incredibly tasty and presented quite nicely)
Atmosphere: 9/10 (very nice restaurant right on the fringe of King William)
Service: 10/10 (unbelievable service; the waiter was kind to offer suggestions and really was nice to our table)
Salsa: 8/10 (the salsa had a mild bite to it and was fresh)
Taste: 9.5/10 (the empanada is a must have; the puffy tacos were ok but the other entrees I had were nice; tres leches is the best in the city)
View Larger Map

Share on Facebook