Hot Date!

The first comprehensive cookbook on an ancient superfood and the cultures that revere it. Mesmerizing and art-packed,Hot Date!features 99mouthwatering, date-centeredrecipes that are the perfect mix of traditional favorites and inspired new creations.

This is not simply a cookbook about dates. It is a love song, a celebration of food and culture from a global perspective. Every page is a surprise in this highly colorful volume, with recipes ranging from Brooklyn to Babylon.

Author Rawaan Alkhatib draws inspiration from her Middle Easternand Indian cooking background to bring a unique perspective to her topic. As a global citizen who has lived and traveled throughout the world, she explores both the significance of the fruit and its chameleon-like characteristics in cooking.

Divided into six chapters,Hot Date!features recipes that are big on flavor and low on fuss, ranging from Party Food (stuffed dates of all kinds!) to Breakfast; Mains; Soups, Salads & Sides; Sweets; and Drinks & Condiments (the Date Chili Crisp is a life changer). Informative sidebars that read like a scrapbook, how-to content, timelines, and historical snippets feature Rawaan’s watercolor illustrations, patterns, and elegant hand-lettering, exploring such topics as:

• Date-growing cultures, history, and visits to date farms in Palm Springs, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt
• The evolution of the classic Palm Springs date shake
• How date palms are pollinated (entirely by hand, to this daymillions of them!)
• How to stuff dates
• Dates at different stages of ripeness
• Shopping and sourcing suggestions
• Extensive suggestions for more reading to enter the world of the date

Hot Date!is doing away with the Western practice of viewing dates as a sugar-free substitute and instead gives the fruit the platform and profile it deserves: an entire book filled to the brim with praise, knowledge, and delicious recipes for date novices and connoisseurs alike.