Tandoori Chicken Pizza

What? You might be asking youself, is tandoori chicken and does it have any place on a pizza?
It's a spicy Indian (north--southside represent!) method of preparing chicken, and the Domino's Pizza here in Ireland has it as one of it's many bizarre offerings. Check out this website if you want some stomach-turners, especially the "Meltdown" pizza with authentic American mustard drizzled over the top. http://www.dominos.ie/menu/default.aspx?categoryid=81
In these days when unexpected things make me unexpectedly queasy taking a look at the cultural differences between pizzas caught me off guard. The last couple of days have been a blessing with no nausea but a few bits of chocolate for my improvised "I'm not eating out and I don't care what I have to eat to do so" lunch have done me in for the afternoon. Bleh!

But really, this is all totally off topic. What I really wanted to accomplish in this blog today was a list of the items they have here in Ireland that I think the States totally needs. Like, immediately.
A few examples:

1. Portable credit card scanners/printers that the waiter brings to your table to check you out. This will saves years of your life if you eat out a lot. (We are still in the hotel and eating out for pretty much EVERY meal that is not part of the continental breakfast). How many times have you handed off the bill with your credit card to wait 10, 15, 20 minutes before they return for you to sign it??? Now the problem is solved.

2. More Irish technology: (John does not like this but I think it is fantastic) Ditigal computer counters on all of the weight equipment in the gym. Now I haven't belonged to a gym in, um, years, but they certainly didn't have anything like this and I LOVE it!!! Beyond the little chip that you insert into each machine--cardio and otherwise--to record your every workout, each weight machine in the hotel gym has a flatscreen (they LOVE their flatscreens and labradors here, let me tell you!) that counts your reps and sets and even tells you if you are doing the rep too fast or slow (cute rabbit/turtle graphic). This is SO SIMPLE and keeps count for people like me who are trying to think of anything, everything other than working out and lose track counting. Come on, America, get it together!

3. Pedestrian rights. Not high-tech, but on most roads there are crosswalks with blinking lights on either side. If a pedestrian is waiting to enter the crosswalk, all cars must stop to let the person cross. Now, sometimes the car comes into a sliding, screeching halt, but you still make it across. Pretty nifty, I say.

4. Roundabouts. Yup, I like 'em. They are not too terrifying and it seems like anything goes, really. We were watching to see what the locals do with the turn signals (sometimes it feels counterintuitive) and two different cars had the blinker on both different directions but they exited on the same road. So I don't feel so bad if I don't take the roundabout perfectly.
Oh, and roundabouts eliminate the needs for tons of stoplights. I have already found myself saying "Can't they just put a roundabout in here so we don't have to wait at this stinkin' light?"

5. Good Irish streets: As John says, they put the "fun" back into driving. Everyone has these mini cars (by American standards) and you are zipping around all of these curves on these impossibly narrow roads. Brushing the curb with your tires is inevitible at least once when driving. Most of the time I suck in my breath to get "skinner" and just pray that I will fit between the parked cars halfway on the sidewalk to my left and the speeding car coming toward me on my right. Exhilirating!!!

6. Fish and chips: Just can't get enough of them. 'Nuf said.

I think I had more items on my list, but that's all my brain cells will support so far. There are just a lot of cool things here (castles on the side of the freeway, crazy 100-ft tall Christmas trees by the freeway (we have to get a picture).

Anyway, that's all for us today. Seems like it is getting darker earlier (NOOOOOO!!! It's only 4PM) so I guess that will be what winter is like when it sets in.

I hope you are all enjoying Thanksgiving and turkey and stuffing, cranberries and such. Not sure how we will celebrate tomorrow, but I will come up with something.

John is working his toosh off but hopefully things will calm down once it all get settled.

If you try to access the link from several posts about our new house, I don't know that you can access it any longer. We are still hoping to move Friday. No more eating out!!!!!

Although, I have to admit that we had some of the best chicken wings we have ever had last night. There's a restaurant/pub/hotel in the Douglas City Center that is reputed to be owned by a former Fluor employee who liked Ireland so much that after the assignment he stayed to become and entrepreneur. The place is very posh--ground floor pub, first floor restaurant, second floor hotel--and there is a floating floor in the restaurant that can be lifted so you see down into the pub OR when it is lowered, it can serve about 10-12 more guests in the restaurant. Now that's some good use of space!! Anyway. . . looking at the menu you have to suspect that an American--probably a Texan--at least had some influence on the place. It's the only menu where we've seen fajitas, quesadillas, nachos, chicken tenders, AND chicken wings with four different levels of hot: mild, wild, suicidal, insane. We had suicidal last night but may try insane next time. Waiter was an absolute doll! And he had the handheld credit card machine! Brilliant!

(Side note: If you have seen the Guinness beer commercials with the guys who say "Brilliant!" in a really funny voice--people here really do say "brilliant" all the time and not when referring to a person's intellectual quotient.)

I guess that's enough rambling for today. Hope everyone is doing well! Happy Turkey day!!! and GO LONGHORNS!!!!


Finally, a tribute to my soul-sistah Diana B:

Turkey, Turkey
Gobble, gobble,
Eat too much,
Wobbly, wobble!!!

Enjoy that triptophan goodness!!!