2,317 four four recipes

Old-fashioned egg balls for soup made from hard-boiled egg yolks, raw egg yolks, and flour. A heritage 3-ingredient garnish that adds richness to clear broths and consommes.

The 2nd place winner in the Chicago Tribune's 1996 Annual Holiday Cookie Contest, a simple brown-sugar shortbread from Sandra Petrille of Naperville, Illinois.

Microwave roast turkey with pan gravy cooks a 12-pound bird in under 90 minutes using the breast-down, breast-up method. A speedy small-kitchen solution for holiday dinner without tying up the oven.

Sour cream chutney walnut dip: a three-ingredient party trick that combines tangy sour cream, sweet-spicy mango chutney, and crunchy walnuts. Stir, chill, serve with crackers or chips. That's it.

Butter ball cookies (Russian tea cakes) with ground walnuts, cake flour, butter, and vanilla rolled in powdered sugar twice. A melt-in-your-mouth holiday cookie with just five ingredients.

Crispy tortilla strips layered with shrimp, bay scallops, smoky chipotle cream sauce, and bacon in a baked seafood chilaquiles casserole. Feeds six in 40 minutes flat.

Deep-fried garbanzo parsnip gnocchi made with chickpea flour, parsnips, and gluten flour. Vegetarian gnocchi with a crispy shell, served with homemade tomato sauce.

Homemade graham crackers from-scratch with whole graham flour, brown sugar, and a long overnight chill. Crisp, lightly sweet wholewheat crackers ready for s'mores, pie crusts, or straight-up snacking.

Elegant sorrel frittata with red potatoes and shallots, topped with sour cream and broiled until golden. Lemony sorrel adds a bright, tangy twist to the classic egg dish.

Hunkar begendi, a classic Turkish dish of smoked eggplant folded into a creamy bechamel sauce with mozzarella and nutmeg. Smoky, silky, and rich from charring the eggplant whole.

Creamy German cucumber salad (Gurkensalat) tossed in a tangy sour cream dressing with mustard and fresh dill. Salting the cucumbers first keeps every slice crisp and the dressing thick, never watery.

Roast goose rubbed with thyme and served with potato pierogies and a pan dripping gravy made from the neck and liver. A showstopping Eastern European holiday centerpiece.

Milzsuppe is a traditional Bavarian and Austrian spleen soup built on butter-browned onions, scraped spleen, and a whisper of roux. Rustic peasant cookery with deep, iron-rich flavor.

Crispy millet flour pancakes with a slightly nutty flavor, cooked on a griddle until golden and served with honey, chutney, or alongside African stews.

Quick bechamel sauce with table cream, butter, flour, and grated Swiss cheese melted in. A rich, cheesy white sauce ready in under 20 minutes for topping any dish.

Authentic gorditas made with masa harina, lard, and a touch of flour. Pressed thin, griddle-seared, then fried until puffed and crispy. Ready to split and fill with your favorite toppings.