We recently went on vacation to San Antonio a very historical
place. Never having set foot on Texas soil before this, I was
rather excited to see this new state.
We went to the IMAX Theater prior to visiting the Alamo. It was
rather graphic to watch.
Watching someone stab another isn’t my idea of excitement. These
men died a violent death. Many forget the Alamo was fought during
the Texas revolution to secede from Mexico.
The U.S. stole a cannon from Mexico and Mexico wanted it back.
The Texans made a flag that read, “Come and Get It!” The battle and
siege of the Alamo took place at the Mission in San Antonio, then
known as “San Antonio de Bexar,” from Feb. 23 to March 6,
1836.
The leaders at the Alamo asked for re-enforcements. After Sam
Houston received word that Santa Anna was leading a large force to
San Antonio, James Bowie arrived with 30 men where they found a
force of 104 men with a few weapons and a few cannons but little
supplies and gunpowder. Houston knew there were not enough men to
hold the fort in an attack and had given Bowie orders to remove the
artillery and blow up the fortification. They did not have enough
oxen to move the artillery someplace safer, and they did not want
to destroy the fortress.
Santa Anna had 4,500 troops headed for the city. On Feb. 3,
William Travis arrived with an additional 30 troops and several
days later Davy Crocket arrived with a regiment of volunteers from
Tennessee.
There was a split in the command. Travis, a major and member of
the regular army, led the regular army and volunteer cavalry and
Bowie, a colonel and older, led the volunteers.
Travis, knowing their fate, drew a line on the ground and asked
those men who wanted to fight for the cause and probably die doing
so, to step across. All but one man did. They all died for the
cause – between 180 and 250 soldiers. From that day forward, the
motto was, “Remember the Alamo!”
The Alamo today has beautiful flower gardens throughout the
grounds. Inside the mission chapel no pictures were allowed to be
taken, hats were to be removed and it was a solemn place for the
memory of those who died there.
It is a wonderful museum honoring these brave men. They also
showed a movie inside the barracks to explain what happened there.
The Daughters of the Texas Revolution have wonderful artifacts from
the area and have fought to preserve and buy back the land to make
this an important part of U.S. history.
We also visited the River Walk in San Antonio and took the
guided boat tour. We walked along the river’s edge and enjoyed the
Mariachi band playing for people while they ate, watched the baby
ducks and enjoyed the sunshine. We found the people of San Antonio
very helpful and friendly. They were very personable and
informative. There were people on the street asking if they could
help us find anything. It was a very welcoming
atmosphere.
However, eat before you go to the River Walk. My husband wanted
to go to Dirty Nelly’s, an Irish pub where you can throw peanut
shells on the floor. However, we ate on the patio to watch the
boats and enjoy the sunshine. Peanuts were not allowed outside,
since the shells would end up in the river. We ordered a hamburger,
which came with fries and a pickle and one beer each. The cost –
hold on to your hat – was $50 for lunch. We have never had a $15
hamburger before.
We also golfed while we were in San Antonio. The people at our
motel were very helpful and insisted on helping my husband by
making our tee times. We did pretty well for our first time out for
the season. My ball went far and straight. My putting needed help
though.
Later in the week we went to the hill country. There are 48
wineries but we only went to six. After tasting at six, I just
wanted to go our cabin at the bed and breakfast and go to sleep. My
limit is one and-a-half glasses of wine and I may have had two
whole glasses from all the “sips.” I needed a pillow.
We stayed in Fredericksburg, Texas for two nights and three
days. It is a German settlement north of San Antonio. The town is
full of German restaurants, gift shops and a lot of history. The
people are friendly and welcoming. We went to the Altdorf
Biergarten Restaurant for dinner.
The restaurant has a 30-year history, with the building built in
1846, 10 years after the Alamo. Bill and I shared a meal of German
sausage, sweet and sour potatoes and braised red cabbage. I wasn’t
very hungry and had the homemade soup and salad and tasted his
meal. Bob, the manager of the restaurant, came over and talked to
us and later gave me the restaurant’s recipe for sweet and sour
potatoes, also called hot German potato salad. We had homemade
buttermilk pie for dessert.
The sausage was the best we had ever tasted. It was made right
there in Fredericksburg. Before we left town, we stopped and picked
up a big bag of different meats from Opa’s Sausage Factory. My
gosh, the pepper bacon and beef jerky were the best we’ve ever
eaten.
We enjoyed our last night in Amarillo, Texas where we were
picked up at our motel by a limousine with longhorn steer horns on
the front and they brought to the Big Texas Steak Restaurant for
dinner where we enjoyed the best steaks in Texas.
The Monday of the week we were there, a man came in and broke
the world’s record by eating a 72-ounce steak, potato, salad, four
fried shrimp, and roll in eight minutes, 36 seconds. I had a hard
enough time finishing my 12-ounce steak. It was so good I ate it
without steak sauce! You could cut it with a butter knife. The
limousine brought us back to our motel.
Wow. Is this what Texas hospitality is? For sure, we’ll go
back.
German sweet and sour potatoes
I had to try these potatoes and brought them to my Monument
Homemaker’s luncheon the week we returned from our trip. They were
so good I made it again for friends on Friday night. The recipe
called for frying the potatoes, but it did suggest boiling them
instead as long as they are not overdone. I boiled them with the
carrots and found it was less messy than frying. They are Simply
tasteful.
8 potatoes, peeled and sliced
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
Fry or boil in water until el dente. Drain. Season with salt and
pepper.
Meanwhile in frying pan, fry:
1/2 pound good pepper bacon until crisp
1 large onion, chopped
Remove from pan and drain. Set aside.
In pan drippings:
1 cup vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup water
Cook 5 minutes or until syrup consistency. Dissolve 1/4 cup
cornstarch in water. Reduce heat and stir in cornstarch mixture to
thicken. This sauce may be made ahead of time.
Add potatoes and carrots, bacon and onion to the sauce and
gently fold. Serve warm.
These can be made ahead and re-heated in the
microwave.
Braised red cabbage
I also tried this recipe for the first time. I added my simply
tasteful version to it by using applesauce and honey. It can be
made ahead and reheated in the microwave. Keep it hot in the oven
in an ovenproof dish until served. Make a simple salad and dinner
will be ready in a matter of minutes.
1 medium-sized red cabbage, shredded (about 2 3/4
pounds)
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced or 1/2 cup
applesauce
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup red wine or red wine vinegar
1 bay leaf
3 Tablespoons brown sugar or 1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Place all ingredients in a 5-6 quart crock-pot and cook for
three and-a-half to four hours on low or until tender to the tooth.
Remove and discard bay leaf.
The red wine in this recipe is acidic and helps preserve the
redness of the cabbage. For a substitute, use an equal amount of
red wine vinegar and increase the amount of brown sugar to 1/4
cup.
Easy and delicious salad
Arrange on a large platter:
1 bag of mixed greens
2 large tomatoes sliced thickly
Sprinkled with great olive oil and balsamic vinegar
Whole mozzarella cheese, sliced to fit on top of each tomato
slice
Artichoke hearts
Variety of olives and pickled mushrooms
Sprinkle of freshly chopped or cut basil
Buttermilk pie
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup biscuit mix (recommended: Bisquick)
1/3 cup (5 1/3 tablespoons) butter, melted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 eggs
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch pie pan.
Put all ingredients in a bowl and blend for 1 minute with a
handheld electric mixer. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Bake for
about 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes
out clean. Cool for five minutes.