Jamaican Barbecue

On Saturday, Scott and I raced up the shore to his hometown of Tofte for a party after I was done with work
.
Not just any party- a Jamaican Barbecue!
Scott's brother is dating a girl from Jamaica named Kim, and Kim felt the need to give us all a taste of her culture (literally) along with some good times with new and old friends.

You can see the butt-end of a goat being hacked away here after it was smoked on the barbecue for a few hours.  It was fun to just watch the preparations!

Kim and her two cousins (also from Jamaica) had total control of the kitchen all day.  In this pic, they're checking to see if some beef pastries made Jamaican-style were done or not.

I have to admit, I was a little skeptical about some of the food.  Ox tail?  Goat butt?  Curried chicken?  I was also worried about the spice level.  I'm a bona-fide Scandinavian girl- medium salsa makes me cry.
It ended up being fantastic, and within my ability to handle!  The ox tail especially was a surprise- lots of flavor, nice and juicy, and way tastier than you'd expect it to be (especially when you're eating from around the vertebrae)!

The night ended with a fire dancer showing off some skills as reggae music bumped along in the background.  Super cool evening with some great people, lots of new experiences, and a ton of fun to boot. :)  Not bad for a Saturday night on the North Shore!