Julie Laing | Twice as Tasty

Homemade Pumpkin Gnocchi - Flathead Beacon If you were intrigued but daunted by last week’s potato gnocchi recipe, you might find a pumpkin variation more manageable. You create the lightest, fluffiest Homemade Pan-Fried Potato Gnocchi if you ...

When properly cured, pumpkins and other winter squash keep just as well as potatoes—plus you can roast an ovenful and freeze the rich puree. These are just two reasons I use squash as a potato alternative in gnocchi. Get the recipe in my latest column: flatheadbeacon.com/2025/10/30/h...

If you have pumpkin puree on hand, skip the potato gnocchi wait times and instead mix, shape and immediately cook squash gnocchi.

Homemade Pan-Fried Potato Gnocchi - Flathead Beacon I’ll boil cheap dried pasta for a quick meal, but gnocchi must be made from scratch. Every brand I’ve tried, in shelf-stable vacuum-sealed packages or refrigerated bags, has a gummy heaviness that fai...

For me, gnocchi has always been one of those food projects that's worth the time and effort to make from scratch. So I put extra time and effort into developing a recipe that creates consistently light and fluffy gnocchi every time. Get it in my latest column: flatheadbeacon.com/2025/10/23/h...

For light, fluffy gnocchi from any type of potato, oven-bake whole potatoes, prepare the dumplings in stages and fry them on the stovetop.

Double Apple Muffins - Flathead Beacon Fall fruits bake into some of the tastiest muffins. Whether I’m using plums, pears or the fresh apples in this week’s recipe, I keep the sugar and the melted butter or oil to a minimum by folding in s...

Fresh apples and applesauce make the tastiest muffins--and cut out some of the fat and sugar, especially if you use unsweetened applesauce. Get my muffin recipe in my latest column, and learn more about making and baking with applesauce on the blog. flatheadbeacon.com/2025/10/16/d...

Fresh apples and applesauce give these muffins the fruitiest taste, and a blend of flours and oats keeps them healthy and hearty.

Fresh Pear, Goat Cheese and Rosemary Galette - Flathead Beacon From my first freeform tart made with pie pastry and fresh fruit, I was hooked. Galettes have the flakiness of pie crust but a roasted-fruit center and taste both rich and light. The galette’s downsid...

I've made improvements to one of my favorite fall freeform tarts: Fresh Pear, Goat Cheese and Rosemary Galette. It's as tasty as ever but with more fruit, better absorption of excess juices, and a sparkly golden crust. Get the recipe in my latest column: flatheadbeacon.com/2025/10/09/f...

Instead of baking a fall-fruit pie, create a freeform tart in which tangy goat cheese and earthy rosemary contrast sweet pears.

Meatless Taco Salad - Flathead Beacon Homemade taco salad was among my favorite meals as a teenager. It was first shared at weeklong gatherings with the families of my dad’s three best friends from college. These camping and mountain trip...

I could eat Meatless Taco Salad every day, especially when I have a stash of fresh corn kernels that I grilled in their husks and shaved from their cobs, turning the corncobs into stock. The kernels are one of many layer options for the recipe in my latest column: flatheadbeacon.com/2025/09/25/m...

Layers of crunchy tortilla chips, seasoned beans and fresh vegetables, tossed with a homemade dressing, have so much flavor that this salad doesn’t need ground beef.

Corncob Stock - Flathead Beacon Freshly harvested corn tastes sweet and delicate when cooked and eaten right off the cob. You can freeze whole ears to extend the sensation of biting into rows of kernels, but they take up lots of fre...

I love that when I grill up a big batch of corn to freeze, the cobs not only create a delicious, versatile, and unique stock but also break down faster in the compost after they've simmered and softened. Get my recipe for Corncob Stock in this week's column:
flatheadbeacon.com/2025/09/18/c...

Turn corncobs stripped of their kernels into a light, savory stock to flavor chowders, soups and risotto.

Goat Cheese and Smoked-Beet Sandwiches - Flathead Beacon The recipe I shared last week for smoked beets finishes them simply with an orange vinaigrette, but they stand up well to other deep flavors. The meatiness of beets and the flavor boost from oven-roas...

What happens when you pile roasted and smoked beets, roasted garlic, homemade mustard, homegrown spicy greens and goat cheese on homemade sourdough bread? Pure deliciousness. Get the recipe in this week's column (and recipes for these fillings and more on my blog): flatheadbeacon.com/2025/09/11/g...

Skip the meat and fill vegetarian sandwiches with smoked beets, tangy goat cheese, and spicy greens.

Roasted and Smoked Beets with Orange Vinaigrette - Flathead Beacon Taste raw, boiled or steamed and oven-roasted or grilled beets side by side, and you’ll note their change from slightly bitter to semisweet and then richly caramelized. I take their flavor one step fu...

If you roast beets instead of boiling or steaming them, you already know how they develop a deliciously caramelized sweetness. In my latest column, I explain how to add a smoky layer of flavor that will have you savoring this humble root vegetable in a new way. flatheadbeacon.com/2025/09/04/r...

Take the earthy flavor of beets to new heights by caramelizing them in the oven and then smoking them.

Smoky Homemade Chili Paste - Flathead Beacon Sometimes food experiments that go awry end up so delicious that they become kitchen staples. That’s what happened with this smoky chili paste. I love smoked and fermented foods, so when I started exp...

I grow and smoke chili peppers every year so that I always have a batch of this chili paste in my fridge to mix into dips, sauces, pasta, soups, stir-fries, curries and more. It's that versatile. Get the recipe in this week's column. flatheadbeacon.com/2025/08/28/s...

This four-ingredient pepper paste takes minutes to prepare and can use your choice of chilies, smoked or not.

Tomato Jam This refrigerated tomato jam recipe makes a small batch of the sweet-and-savory spread that upgrades everything from cheese trays to burgers.

Tomato jam has a sweet-and-savory flavor that makes it more than just a fancy ketchup or sugary chutney yet stands in readily for both. I recently developed a delicious refrigerated version for Taste of Home: www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/toma...

Grilled Tomatillo Margarita - Flathead Beacon I began growing tomatillos for the fun of watching their husk balloon and fill – and to make salsa verde. I’ve come to love them in many dishes, from raw with cucumbers in a quick pickle to lightly co...

The naturally sweet-and-sour taste of tomatillos makes them a perfect fit for margaritas—especially when you grill the tomatillos and sweeten their juice with homemade triple sec. Get the recipe in my latest column: flatheadbeacon.com/2025/08/21/g.... Scroll back for my triple sec recipe too.

Naturally sweet and sour, tomatillos make a delicious base for intensely flavored margaritas with a touch of grilled smokiness.

Homemade Triple Sec (Orange Liqueur) - Flathead Beacon When I started experimenting with homemade cocktail mixers, I was pairing them with cheap, store-bought liqueurs like triple sec. When I noticed the high-fructose corn syrup and additives in bottom-sh...

When it comes to cocktail mixers, it doesn't get much easier than Homemade Triple Sec. Add zest to the alcohol, and time does the rest. Once it's flavored, add simple syrup—another easy yet key cocktail technique. Get my orange liqueur recipe in my latest column: flatheadbeacon.com/2025/08/07/h...

Homemade liqueurs like triple sec are easy, mainly hands-off projects that upgrade margaritas, mimosas and other cocktails.

Cheese-Stuffed Grilled Sourdough Breadsticks make delicious dippers for Grilled Tomato Pizza Sauce, shown here, and Romesco-Inspired Grilled Pepper and Almond Sauce, in my recent Flathead Beacon column.

I usually dip Cheese-Stuffed Grilled Sourdough Breadsticks, made with pizza dough, into Grilled Tomato Pizza Sauce, but the Romesco-Inspired Grilled Pepper and Almond Sauce in my recent column is another delicious option. Find all of these recipes at flatheadbeacon.com/section/arts...

Romesco-Inspired Grilled Pepper and Almond Sauce - Flathead Beacon Most websites and American cookbooks tell you that romesco sauce is a classic use for roasted red peppers. When I first thickened a roasted pepper sauce with almonds, I fell into the same trap of call...

In last week's column, I shared my love of roasting peppers over an open flame. This week, I share one of my favorite uses for them: Romesco-Inspired Grilled Pepper and Almond Sauce. flatheadbeacon.com/2025/08/07/r...

The flavors of traditional Catalan romesco motived me to puree homegrown grilled peppers and nuts into a mild, smoky sauce.

A grill infuses sweet peppers with smoky, charred flavor as it roasts them, until firm and ready to chop for salsa or soft and pliable for sauces.

Roasted Raspberry Syrup - Flathead Beacon Last month, I was using up raspberries from my freezer to make Raspberry Shrub for mocktails and cocktails. Now I’m picking pounds of fresh raspberries every couple of days, so I bump up the juice’s f...

For extra layers of flavor, I oven-roast fresh raspberries and drop in fresh herbs or other botanicals before turning them into a jewel-toned syrup. Get the recipe for Roasted Raspberry Syrup in my latest column:
flatheadbeacon.com/2025/07/24/r...

When roasted with sugar in the oven, fresh berries become deliciously caramelized and release their juices into a deeply flavored syrup.

Lemon Tahini Sauce or Dressing - Flathead Beacon Many people keep a bottle of yellow mustard in their fridge, but if you reach into mine for a similar-looking condiment, you’ll find lemon tahini sauce instead. Both yellow mustard and lemon tahini sa...

My list of ways to use this sauce just keeps getting longer! I share some ideas, along with the recipe and variations, in my latest Flathead Beacon column. What are yours? flatheadbeacon.com/2025/07/17/l...