"This bright and lively tome is not only the best-looking cookbook of the year—it's very cookable, packed with playful recipes featuring this humble Middle Eastern fruit."—Slate
"The beautiful book—rich with photos, Alkhatib's own water-color illustrations, and her handwritten notes—investigates the history, cultural significance, and many varieties of the date, along with the unusually wide spectrum of contexts into which the savory-sweet fruit fits."—The New Yorker
"The most sumptuous cookbook I've ever encountered.... Savor this book with your sweetheart, take yourself out on your own date: Hot Date! is a joy."—The Paris Review
The first comprehensive cookbook on an ancient superfood and the cultures that revere it. Mesmerizing and art-packed, Hot Date! features 99 mouthwatering, date-centered recipes 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 Eastern and 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:
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.
UNIQUE COOKBOOK: The first of its kind published in the United States, this beautiful book centers a global food known for its versatility, flavor, and nutritional heft. There are no other definitive cookbooks or guides to dates published in English that share recipes, explore the fruit's history, and feature 3,000 (and counting) varieties of dates.
INTERWOVEN STORYTELLING: Hot Date! is rich with stories, poems, and imagery from the Arab world, including visits to date-rich oases throughout the Middle...
