5,081 four four recipes

Steamed asparagus with a warm hazelnut brown butter sauce finished with apple cider vinegar. Four ingredients, 30 minutes, and a nutty richness that makes spring asparagus taste like a restaurant side dish.

Wild rice with a four-mushroom medley (button, shiitake, oyster, enoki) plus snow peas and red pepper, simmered in soy-scented broth. A high-fiber, low-fat vegetarian dish with real depth.

The original Irish coffee invented at Foynes Airport: hot coffee, brown sugar cubes, Irish whiskey, finished with a float of cold lightly whipped cream. Four ingredients, one warming cocktail for cold nights.

Chocolate mud frosting made by melting chocolate chips with milk in the microwave, then blending with corn syrup and vanilla. A glossy, fudgy four-ingredient frosting with no butter or powdered sugar.

Magic truffles are a four-ingredient chocolate fudge made with melted chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, and a splash of vanilla or rum extract. Press into a block, chill, slice, and serve.

Homemade dried apple jelly made with just four ingredients and no added pectin. Boil dried apple slices into a concentrated juice, sweeten with sugar and lemon, then cook to a gorgeous, spreadable set.

Frozen bananas rolled in honey, lemon juice, and almond slivers. A four-ingredient summer snack with the chew of frozen banana and the crunch of toasted nuts. No churning, no sugar added beyond honey.

Chili-rubbed sirloin steak: a quick four-ingredient weeknight dinner ready in 15 minutes. Garlic and chili powder pressed into the meat form a bold dry crust under high heat, sliced and served with cool salsa.

Galia melon in port wine with honey and pomegranate seeds is an elegant, no-cook fruit dessert. Just four ingredients for a light, boozy finish to a dinner party that looks as stunning as it tastes.

Golden-seared veal cutlets topped with a warm bourbon-spiked apricot and orange compote laced with ginger. Sweet, savory, and citrusy all at once, this elegant 40-minute dinner for four feels like a special occasion.

Aunt May's pickled green tomatoes is a heritage four-day sweet pickle recipe that turns 15 pounds of unripe tomatoes into translucent, cinnamon-and-clove spiced jewels in cider vinegar syrup. Old-school canning that fills the pantry.

Chicken gyros with cucumber salsa and tsatsiki turn leftover roast chicken into a fast Greek dinner. Garlic-herb oil, cool yogurt sauce, crunchy cucumber-tomato salsa, warm pita.

DASHI STOCK is Japanese clear soup stock. There are four types made from kelp, dried bonito, shitake mushroom, or dried fish. Dashi stock is the secret of Japanese cooking. To keep this strictly vegetarian, I omit the dried bonito flakes and substitute with soy bean sprouts and or mushrooms.

Homemade papadum (papad) from lentil flour with black pepper and cumin. Rolled thin, dried, then fried until crispy and blistered. A classic Indian appetizer or snack.

Lentil and potato veggie burgers bound with cornmeal and brightened with mustard, soy sauce and vegetable juice. Plant-based, freezer-friendly patties that hold their shape on the grill or in the oven.

Our dinner yesterday, absolutely delicious. I made my own whole wheat pizza dough with 3/4 cup whole wheat flour and 1/4 cup barley flour, and it was delicious with the onion and tomato toppings.