Conversations with S.... and Chuck Norris

Today, calling my husband on Skype for our daily afternoon chat, I noticed a quote beside his name which made me LAUGH OUT LOUD. It read:

“Yes I can” - Barack Obama prima di incontrare Chuck Norris “No you can't” - Chuck Norris prima di assassinare Obama con un calcio rotante

Before I translate, please let me say he was in no way making any political statements.

It means:

"Yes, I can" (speaks for itself and refers to Obama's now famous speech/catchphrase/youtube song) - Barack Obama before he met Chuck Norris
"No you can't" - Chuck Norris before he hits Obama with a roundhouse kick.

Why is that so funny you ask? Politically speaking we are about as opposite from Chuck Norris as possible. I think he is probably a nice guy, obviously well studied in martial arts. But what makes it so funny to me is that over the last years, I have become aware of the subcultural phenomenon that IS Chuck Norris. Did you know this exists?

There are whole websites dedicated to CN with sayings such as:

- There is no chin behind Chuck Norris’ beard. There is only another fist.
- When Chuck Norris does a pushup, he isn’t lifting himself up, he’s pushing the Earth down.
- Chuck Norris doesn't read books. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants.

This all stems from Walker, Texas Ranger which we all know is a terrible show, yet people watch it everywhere! Italians LOVE him, and many times when I am talking to S. he is watching Walker. Did he ever watch it here - NO.lol I was never a fan of the show though I did watch it occasionally to see if I recognized any of the places (they shot it in Dallas). And I understand its appeal since it is so over-the-top, but I never got the cult behavior until recently.

NOW I understand why he had a small cameo in "Dodgeball". NOW I understand the "Walker, Texas Ranger" lever on Conan O'Brien's show. And this Saturday Night Live short. So funny. sigh

So there you go. We are all now aware of the cult of Chuck Norris, and I have to say, some of those quotes are FUN - NY. Even the Italian sites, if you can't read them - look at the pics. My favorite is the cat of Chuck Norris. Makes me laugh every time... but then again, I am a big nerd.

Ah, my fellow Texan - you are a giant among men. hehe

More later...

Man! She is good

I've posted about her before but dang, I wish I could sing like this. There are few singers that can sing this well at 7:00am, especially after partying at a festival like SXSW. Seriously ya'll you should get her album. (sorry, this is live so you have a bit of the radio show before the song starts).

Love her...

Welcome to Texas Food

Now we come to the food portion of our Welcome to Texas (WTT) series. I must tell you upfront this section will have multiple entries as we have several "Texan" foods. But to start us off, I thought I would begin with our German/Austrian roots. Did you know that Texas had a lot of German immigrants back in the day?

Yep, primarily in Central Texas, also known as the Hill Country, you will find quite a bit of German influence - with towns like Fredricksburg, New Braunfels, Boerne, well, how could you not? And so of course with this migration, came the comfort foods of home BUT now with a Texas twist. So with no futher ado, I give you -

Lesson #2 - Chicken Fried Steak (aka, delicious goodness)

Chicken fried what you ask? Is it chicken? is it steak? well my friend it can be both! But traditionally it is steak. This has become a very southern food but according to Wikipedia, it originated in Texas. All because of our German settlers. In Germany (and Austria) they eat what is called Weiner Schnitzel. which is very good and traditionally made with tenderized veal. Well, beef is something Texas has a lot of and thus our chicken fried steak was born.

Normally, this dish is made out of cheaper cuts of beef which are then tenderized, battered and fried (like chicken). It is usually about the size of a big plate, served with mashed potatoes and covered with cream gravy. additional sides are beans (my favorite and the most common in my opinion is green beans) and a roll to sop up the unused gravy. I THINK in other parts of the south, they may use brown gravy, which is delicious in its own right, but here - its cream gravy with specks of pepper. YUM!

As you can see by the picture, I rebelled against the norm by ordering these fried potatoes, just because I wasn't in the mood for mashed. It's ok my friends - it can be done. and believe me those fries were GOOD. Other variations are chicken fried chicken or the CFS in sandwich form (yes, really. a sandwich). They are good as well and the chicken looks pretty much like the steak but it is not original. hehe

Now a word of caution - not all chicken fried steak is created equal. You must, I repeat MUST, purchase your first CFS by a reputable restaurant or a good home cook. There are some nasty CFS's out there and I would hate for you to miss this deliciousness by coming across them. So ask the locals or check things out on the internet cuz a bad, gristley CFS can scar you for life.

Beverage of choice with this dish - Beer. Wine? come on, really? look at that grease and gravy - beer, iced tea or coke (soda, for non-Texas speakers) are best.

Don't forget to sop up the gravy with the roll (which I didn't get, but whatever) and chase it down with some good pecan pie or cobbler. hehehe

Buon appetito ya'll

More later...

Welcome to Texas

Since I am a native Texan, I have a tendency to overlook peculiarities that we have. It has been interesting to see these characteristics through the eyes of my Italian husband. So, I thought I would share some with you as they pop into my mind. Just in case you ever visit or move to Texas. Please know that there will always be some regional differences (aren't there always?) and even though I have a North Texas perspective, I am going to generalize anyway. hehe Feel free to "correct" me.

Lesson #1: Weather - Extreme Sports, Weather Edition

"If you don't like the weather in Texas, just wait 10 minutes."

We have weird weather. Huge storms throughout the year, tornadoes, completely bi-polar temperatures, etc. Let me give you an example:

Today was a beautiful day. Blue, clear skies, mild temps in the 70sF (21.5C). I had my house open all day =) Tomorrow - high of 45F (7C). A high we will hit IN THE MORNING. afternoon temps - 35F (1.7C). Cold rain mixed with snow expected =) and this is the second time in a matter of 4 days that we've had this scenario. We actually had big fat snow Monday night. it didn't really stick at my house but I sure had fun watching it.

I will be honest - this is not the biggest temperature swing we've had. We can have a variation of 30+ degrees over a course of hours. (seriously) And usually in the winter we will have some wintry precipitation - mostly in the form of ice. Not this year though - except during this first week of March.

Not only do our temperatures change drastically in a short amount of time but we also get big thunderstorms. Always in spring, but also just randomly throughout the year - anytime our warm gulf air hits with something arctic. thunderstorms you say? beh - big deal. Yeah they are a big deal. The thunder is HUGE (rattling the windows), the lightening is fast & scary and usually you hear at least one circuit box explode.lol have you ever seen a lightening storm? Just lightening, streaking across the sky - no rain, no clouds, just streaks of light crackling through the sky. Its beautiful and terrifying.

Now, along with the thunderstorms we get tornadoes. and hail. not ordinary hail - though we can have pea or quarter size hail, we also get baseball-softball size hail. I remember saving a piece in the freezer once, because S. did not believe me when I told him the size. It had shrunk a bit but he was a believer after he saw it with his own eyes. hehe

Tornadoes are something else. I remember doing tornado drills in elementary school in the spring. We'd all line up against the walls in the hallways. sitting cross-legged, bending over with our arms over our heads. Did any of you ever do that? lol teachers would open the windows in the classrooms and we'd all be waiting in the hall. I don't think kids do that anymore, though I need to check. I've always had a fear of tornadoes but it was just part of life.

My Italian on the other hand is not used to these extremes in weather. The 100+F (38C) temps in the summer kill him - when we bought a house, it had to have a pool because he refused to live another summer here without one. He does not like thunderstorms AT ALL and completely freaks when tornadoes are around. hehe

Weather and a good thunderstorm is something I will really miss when I move from here. I know my Italian will not miss it one bit. But to me it is exciting and wild, kind of an adrenaline rush seeing the power of Mother Nature. maybe its just part of my Texan blood? It's probably because we are a bit crazy. hehe

In conclusion - when in Texas, layers are a must (except in summer). keep an umbrella in the car. wherever you are staying, always scope out the best place to run in case of tornado. during a thunderstorm, enjoy the thunder but unplug your computer; take out the candles/matches & flashlights - JUST in case lightening hits something and the power goes out.

And remember... if you are having crappy weather - be patient. more than likely, it will change in a matter of hours.

More later...

::Update:: Well, it is 10:00am and we've already hit our high of 42F (5.5C). Yep, by 7:00am we were already headed into the 30's. WooHoo Here comes the snow!!