That summer breeze, rolling through the trees, makes you tip your glass to the growing grass. Sure, maybe you don't live in Hawaii, but that warm and tropical feeling that warms your heart can still be captured in the familiarity of your backyard. Jimmy Buffet reminds us that the tropics are just a state of mind. If you want to fully capture that breezy, easy feeling, invite your friends, cook some poi, pour some sweet drinks, and throw a luau.

Throwing a luau is just like any party with four key elements: food, drink, music, and decor. Not quite sure how to Hawaiian up your party? Well, here are some tips to bring the island to suburbia.

1. Food

Delivering a luau menu is not as foreign and tropical as one might suppose. Typical luaus feature many dishes familiar and readily available to mainlanders. I suggest creating a base of the familiar dishes and wowing your guests with one or two more exotic dishes. Staples include: banana bread, teriyaki beef, sweet potatoes, grilled pineapple, huli-huli chicken(hawaiian bbq), and fried rice. I would avoid anything typically local to Hawaii, like Mahi Mahi(a tropical fish), because of issues with freshness and shipping cost. However, here are two doable recipes to make your luau delicious(these and more recipes written by John Fischer from about.com may be found at http://gohawaii.about.com/cs/l uaurecipes/l/aa041902a.htm):

Char Siu (bbq spar ribs, Hawaiian style)
1 1/2 pounds spareribs
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons red bean curd sauce
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon five spice powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sherry or whiskey
1 teaspoon red food coloring
1 clove garlic, crushed
Preparation:
Prepare a marinade by combining all of the ingredients except the spareribs themselves. Marinate the spareribs 12-24 hours, turning the ribs over several times.

About an hour before serving, bake spareribs at 325 degrees. After a half hour, turn and baste the spareribs. Continue cooking for about another half hour or until spareribs reach an internal temperature of 155F to 160F.

Haupia (Hawaiian Coconut Pudding)
2 cups coconut milk
1 cup whole milk
6 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 tsp vanilla (if desired)
Preparation:
Pour one cup of coconut milk into a saucepan. Combine sugar and cornstarch stirring into coconut milk. (Add vanilla is desired) Heat over low stirring consistently until thickened.
Add remainder of coconut milk and whole milk

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