Birthday BBQ

So... I'm very behind on my posts. My apologies. It's not any news that my birthday was last month. I told you all about my gifts (part 1) but I never shared my birthday BBQ (part 2) or Italian dinner out (part 3 - post coming soon) with you! My birthday was on a Sunday this year and we hosted a BBQ at Ala Moana Beach Park. It was a beautiful day and a nice, relaxing celebration. If you can't tell by my hair, it was windy out!

One of the great things about Hawaii's laid-back attitude is that all parties are pot-luck style. Easy on the host! My friend and fellow foodie Lindsay brought this huge tray of edamame.

She also made these scrumptious cookies!

Christine made her famous "potato salad with crack!" No real drugs included. She also went into labor just hours after leaving said BBQ and had her sweet baby boy the next morning!

I made a cold pasta salad but used salami (instead of the more traditional pepperoni) and homemade dressing from this tortellini salad recipe. At first it didn't taste good, but after chilling and letting the flavors mix it was great!

Our roommate and his girlfriend made this colorful coleslaw!

My cousin's girlfriend made these: cupcakes in ice cream cones. She had no idea that A) I love chocolate, especially when it's chocolate on chocolate, B) I requested these specifically from my Mom each year for my birthday as a kid, and C) I would freak out over them (drunkenly) at my BBQ! Thanks Joelle :) And how smart is putting them in a beer box? Genius.

Finally, rather than taking a cake to a BBQ (which is not easy to transport, preserve, cut, or serve) I made adorable and portable desserts that I found on Pinterest.

Peanut Butter M&M Hug & Kiss Pretzels 
Print this recipe


adapted from Muses of Megret

1 bag of Hershey Kisses
1 bag of Hershey Hugs
1 large bag of peanut butter M&M's
1 bag of square pretzels

Additional supplies needed: baking sheets and tin foil

The first part is the worst. Unwrap allllll the hugs and kisses and find the whole pretzel pieces. Eat any pretzel that doesn't look right, any hug or kiss that falls onto the counter, and all M&M's that don't look like the others! Put each ingredient into a bowl.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. On a baking sheet lined with foil, channel your inner-most OCD by lining up the pretzels perfectly and topping them with alternating rows of hugs and kisses. None of this crap matters when you're eating the finished product but it sure makes a compulsive mind happy and a pretty photo!

Put them into the oven for 2 - 3 minutes, until the chocolate just begins to melt.

Remove, then press a peanut butter M&M into each hug or kiss immediately.

We discovered a few odd and unexpected things while making these: 

1. Some of the hug and kiss tops get hard and burnt, but it makes no difference once you add the M&M
2. The hugs and kisses cool at different speeds, so top the one that dries fastest with the M&M's first

So clearly I didn't transport them as well as I had imagined! Some of the chocolate fell of the pretzels but that didn't stop any of us from devouring them.

For the record intervention, Peanut Butter M&M Hug & Kiss Pretzels have affected my life positively in the following ways: they're bite sized, a great combo of savory and sweet, and very delicious warm, cold, and at room temperature. They can be made using any flavor or color of M&M to match a theme or holiday and the peanut butter was a slight, subtle, and yummy addition to the salty pretzels and creamy chocolate. They came to my birthday BBQ and were welcomed with and shared by my friends and family, but still came home with me at the end of the night!