HAMPTON ROADS, Va.— With Labor Day coming up, Chef Patrick joins Coast Live to share a way to celebrate, with picnics! Watch him create a dish to add to your baskets and share tips for a better outdoor experience.

Although the focus at picnics is often on what’s on the grill, side dishes are an important part of the meal. It’s good to have a variety of sides to compliment the main dish.

You’ll want to include sides that are easy to prepare, take outside, and serve. A bonus is to select sides that can be made in advance, such as the day before, and ready to go on the day of the picnic.

Here's the recipe from his blog: (A fun take on a classic is our Hawaiian Pizza Macaroni Salad)

Lightly salt a large pot of water and bring to a boil. Add 1 (16-ounce) package of elbow macaroni and cook, stirring occasionally for about 6-8 minutes. Noodles should be tender, but firm to the bite. Drain pot and transfer pasta to a large serving bowl to cool. 

On top of the macaroni, add 2 (8-ounce) cans crushed pineapple, drained; a dozen or so black olives, rough chopped; 8 ounces of ham steak, cubed; 8 slices of crispy fried bacon; crumbled; 8 ounces mozzarella, diced; 1/2 green bell pepper, diced; 1/2 red bell pepper, diced; and 1/2 sweet onion, such as a Maui sweet, diced. Toss to incorporate all the ingredients.

In a medium bowl whisk 1 cup Italian dressing with 1/2 cup Greek yogurt until blended and pour over pasta; toss well. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours or overnight. 

For more, www.VirginiaEatsAndDrinks.com [virginiaeatsanddrinks.com]

THE BEST WAYS TO ENJOY A PICNIC

Labor Day is rapidly approaching, and many folks will be heading outside to enjoy the last days of summer with a picnic.

Picnics can be as simple or as elaborate as you’d like them to be. You can grab some gourmet goodies at local shops or restaurants and hit the road, or you can craft your own culinary creations before packing them up for a little supper on the lawn.

Make the most of your picnic with our tips and tricks:

For more, www.VirginiaEatsAndDrinks.com [virginiaeatsanddrinks.com]

AT CM CHICKEN IN VIRGINIA BEACH

Frying chicken has been practiced in Korean for some five centuries, often served with a sassy seasoning. For the past five decades or so, modern techniques and use of spices have made various styles of chicken - you’ll sometimes see it referred to as ‘chikin’ - widely popular, not just in the Asian nation, but in the United States as well.

Hallmarks of Korean friend chicken are a crunchy, but delicate exterior embellished by spicy and/or sweet elements. The Smithsonian calls the dish a “ubiquitous staple” of the nation.

At CM Chicken, the classic dish comes in a number of varieties, with several sporting chili pepper icons next to their name on the menu to alert diners of their level of spiciness.

My dining partners and I picked the offering with three chilis next to the name: Red Hot Pepper Chicken. Available as drumsticks, tenders, wings, or a whole chicken, we picked the latter, which was broken down into pieces and filled two platters.

Each of piece, addictively crunch on the outside, and moist and tender on the inside, was tossed in a housemade gochujang sauce.

Gochujang sauce is dark red, and highly flavorful. Named after a village in South Korea, it’s an ancient recipe that starts with a thick paste of red chili powder, other peppers, and other ingredients like glutinous rice powder and powdered fermented soybeans. There is an underlying sweetness, and profound umami. The heat is real.

The dish was delish. The chicken was cooked perfectly, and the sauce was a beautiful, albeit spicy, addition. The three of us ate our fill, and still had pieces left to take home and enjoy the next day.

A side order of coleslaw, which was crunchy and creamy with clean flavors and an underlying herbaciousness, was a wonderful, cooling foil to the fiery chicken. Classic french fries were also a nice add-on.

Read more about CM Chicken in my Beach Eats column in the Virginian-Pilot newspaper.

For more, www.CMChickenUSA.com [cmchickenusa.com]

FOR MORE VIRGINIA EATS + DRINKS

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