Mud House Prickly Pear Margarita Pie

There are many, many versions of margarita pie out there, including this recipe I found in one of my old, regional cookbooks. It is a 1977 collection of recipes benefiting the Tucson Museum of ArtAmong other things, the recipe requires the addition of four uncooked egg whites which is frowned upon today due to food safety issues. I chuckled a bit, thinking how much things have changed. I was getting ready to close the book when I glanced at the facing page and saw a recipe for French-fried diamondback. It took me a minute to believe what I was reading. For those of you who are neither baseball fans nor familiar with desert creatures, diamondbacks are rattlesnakes and deadly. The recipe includes directions to use "utmost care and caution to catch a rattlesnake at least two feet in length using a long snare." Talk about food safety issues! Shucks, these folks weren't afraid of a lil' ole raw egg! The author of this recipe was "anonymous" and I can only hope it was written with tongue firmly in cheek. It is, however, a legitimate recipe. Yuck and yuck and blech. Western diamondbacks are not currently considered endangered but they are essential to the eco-system of the desert so nobody out there better be French-frying up a batch of diamondback. If you want to know more about them (and I don't) check out the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum here.

Anywayyyyy... back to less creepy subjects. I decided to leave raw eggs and rattlesnakes behind and continue my quest. I wanted a recipe I could adapt by adding prickly pear syrup. I wanted prickly pear margarita pie! You can read about my adventures with prickly pears here and here. Fortunately I have a nice collection of vintage, regional cookbooks and I found a recipe from the Rancho De La Osa Guest Ranch in Sasabe, Arizona (it is a mud house, too!).

Here is a little history from their website and I encourage you to visit their website if you would like to learn more.

"In the late 17th Century, the fertile Altar Valley was settled by Spanish Jesuits. Father Eusebio Francisco Kino and his followers built a mission outpost on the ranch. This building was used for more than a century as an outpost to trade with the local Indians and Mexicans. This rare and historic adobe structure is reputed to be the oldest building in Arizona and still serves as a peaceful gathering place for our guests to mingle and relax.

Rancho De La Osa is part of the original three million acre land grant from the King of Spain to the Ortiz brothers of Mexico in 1812. When the Gadsden Purchase was signed in 1854 settling the border dispute between Mexico and the United States, the ranch fell within the US boundaries. Shortly afterward cattle baron and Civil War hero Colonel William Sturgis began renovations on the main house and made the structure the center of his massive ranching empire.

The Mexican Revolution brought history to our doors when revolution leader Pancho Villa fired on the hacienda. A Mexican cannonball from the era was found embedded in the stucco walls of the main house. Today the cannonball sits on display in the structure for all to see.

In 1921, Louisa Wade Wetherill, who is still considered one of the foremost Navajo historians, came south looking for a lost tribe of Navajos. She never found them, but she started "Hacienda De La Osa (She Bear) Guest Ranch" in 1924, and the ranch began its transformation into one of America's premier guest ranches, beginning an enviable tradition that continues to this day."

This is a pretty cool, historical place.

I am copying their recipe with my changes and additions in parenthesis. This recipe is delicious without the addition of prickly pear syrup so don't let that stop you. If you want to try it with syrup you can find it here. Just boil it down so it is thickened and you have approximately 3 tablespoons.

Rancho De La Osa Margarita Pie

For the Pretzel Crust:

1 1/2 cups finely crushed pretzel (I used 1 cup pretzels and 1/2 cup graham crackers. If you want a saltier contrast with the pie filling, use all pretzels.)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter melted

Pulse the pretzel and sugar is a food processor several times to combine. Add the butter in a steady stream and process until well mixed.

Spray 9 inch pie plate with non-stick cooking spray and press pretzels evenly over the bottom and up the sides of plate

For the Pie Filling:
1/2 cup fresh lime juice (use Mexican or key limes if available)
1 - 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons gold tequila
2 tablespoons Triple Sec (I use Cointreau - much yummier!)
Green food color (Or pink if you are going with prickly pear pie. The syrup gives a light pink color to the pie but I wanted my pink to pop so I used two drops of magenta.)
(3 tablespoons reduced prickly pear syrup)
2 cups heavy whipping cream, whipped

Combine the lime juice, condensed milk, tequila, and Triple Sec (Cointreau), food color, and prickly pear syrup, if using, in a large bowl and mix well. That's the prickly pear syrup in the center, so pretty!Gently fold in whipped cream and fill pie crust.

Freeze for four hours or overnight.

Garnish with whipped cream and lime slices.

Notes:

Don't use non-fat or low-fat pretzels. The crust will not hold together.
You may substitute graham crackers for all or part of the crust.
The pie definitely tastes better the next day so try to plan ahead with preparation.
This pie is delicious with or without the prickly pear syrup. It tastes just like a creamy, frozen margarita.

Enjoy!

Comments

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That diamondback recipe sounds like something they would like here in ky. Did you see the constitutional amendment they just voted on yesterday. Made hunting a constitutional right. I'm not anti hunting but did they really feel like their rights were being threatened.

Posted by: Kathy | 11/07/2012 at 05:34 PM