jerk-chicken in jersey and a very glorious housewarming

the salmon

so saturday the 31st of july i attended my co-worker's housewarming party in new jersey. i was very excited to attend seeing that i had heard about the endless amounts of food that would be produced and ingested on this day. after laying around hungover until about noon, i got myself together, took a shower and trekked into manhattan to catch the nj transit and make my first trip to new jersey (yes, my first! i had only driven through in my life and i finally got a taste of the glorious place that spoons the landmass of ny that i call home). empty stomach ready for action, my co-worker picked me up from the train station and we drove the cute, scenic route to his new home where he resides with his adorable wifey and equally adorable daughter (one of the happiest babies i've ever seen, and i dont really like babies but she was awesome). as soon as i arrived and was introduced to many a family member, i was handed a plate and told to help myself. as i looked around i realized i was surrounded by a sea of tin trays with the most amazing combination of aromas wafting into my nasal passages... i knew it was going to be a great party.

chicken curry, yummmm

first up, salmon with tomatoes and onions in a sea of some delicious sauce that made my taste buds perk up and prepare themselves for a big job ahead of them. the next food i tried, the curried chicken with rice and beans.

this chicken... let me tell you... best chicken curry i've ever had. ever. and i think the best i will ever have in my entire life... it was SO GOOD. the meat fell right off the bone and the sauce had the perfect amount of seasoning and went perfectly with the rice and black-eyed peas. yum. yumyumyum i wish i could eat this chicken all the time (and the leftovers, which i ate in a fury of hunger the next day was equally as impressive cold). also incredibly delicious were the jerk chicken wings. they were the perfect amount of spicy... just enough to burn a little bit but not too much that you couldn't even taste the flavor. these i also ate the next day leftover and cold and they were still fantastic. along with the jerk chicken were bbq chicken wings that were finger-lickin good. among these favorites there was lasagna, fried rice, mac n cheese (best i've ever had), blood pudding and endless amounts of food that was so consistently delicious i thought i'd died and gone to foodie heaven.

jerk chicken wings

for dessert there were many a treat, including baked apple crunchy pie, cheese danish-y things that were awesome, cheesecake brownies (favorite... brownies with cheesecake on top... how amazing does that sound??), pear tart and more.

all in all, i spent my day drinking jamaican beer and eating platefuls after platefuls of incredible food. good conversation was had, a little dancing and my stomach was constantly full and happy. to sum it up, it was a grand day overall and i will be telling people of the curried chicken for lifetimes to come.