Hot Date!
Sweet & Savory Recipes Celebrating the Date, from Party Food to Everyday Feasts
by Rawaan Alkhatib
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Pub Date Feb 04 2025 | Archive Date Feb 03 2025
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Description
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:
- 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 day—millions 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.
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 East and Africa, as well as Palm Springs, California.
BEAUTIFULLY PRODUCED GIFT BOOK: Much more than a typical recipe book, this volume brims with photos, illustrations, and irresistible details like its fuchsia-dyed page edges, which make you feel like you’re entering a fantasy world. It is as much a cookbook as an artistic object and makes a perfect gift for home cooks, readers interested in the fruit, anyone with an interest in or ties to the Middle East, and those drawn to the colorful art.
CANDY BAR DATES & SO MUCH MORE: Dates date back 7,000 years and are at the core of many cultures' cuisines. This fruit has spanned generations, from the centuries-old love of their nutritional superpowers to the viral sensation of Date “Snickers” bars with over 1.3 billion views on TikTok. Hot Date! is for everyone from established date lovers to those looking to experiment with big flavors and textures, and anyone who savors stunning coffee table books featuring rich art and vivid details.
Perfect for:
- Date lovers
- Home cooks of all ages
- Anyone interested in Middle Eastern-inspired cooking
- Whole food-oriented cooks seeking flavor-rich recipes
- Anyone looking to switch up the menu for an Iftar gathering
- Gift-giving to food lovers, cookbook enthusiasts, and art book collectors
Available Editions
| EDITION | Hardcover |
| ISBN | 9781797226446 |
| PRICE | $35.00 (USD) |
| PAGES | 272 |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Angela W, Reviewer
I received an ARC of this cookbook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is a wonderful cookbook, full of interesting and varied recipes!
Reviewer 1543938
Thank you to Netgalley for this free ARC!
I enjoyed this niche cookbook featuring dates. There was a much wider variety of recipes than I expected. I don't think this is a cookbook I would use for everyday cooking, but it would be fantastic to pull out around the holidays.
The hand drawn artwork is gorgeous, but I would have liked to see more photos of the food too.
I loved all the info it included about the different kinds of dates, and how they are grown. I learned quite a bit! I think this cookbook would be a great gift for someone that does a lot of parties and holiday gatherings.
Beth C, Reviewer
I received an advance ebook from NetGalley.
Dates have been a source of sustenance and delight for centuries, and this cookbook celebrates them with a multitude of recipes and gorgeous full-color journaling spreads. The recipes are incredibly diverse, most Middle Eastern in influence. Dates are utilized in various forms, from plain pitted to date sugar to date butter and more. A guide to different major varieties begins the book, including an explanation of varying stages of ripeness. All kinds of dishes are described, including appetizers, sides, main dishes, drinks, and desserts. I loved the tone of the book. It’s not formal at all, but friendly and conversational.
Then there is the graphic design. Now, I read this as an ebook, but I can imagine it would be even prettier in printed form. Illustrations dance from page to page, vivid, packed with handwritten verses and old recipes. This would make for a beautiful coffee table book.
Kim R, Reviewer
Fun and fresh ideas in a great layout. Loved the illustrations and found them easy to read. Informative section on varietals of dates and the ripening process including stages of ripeness. Good to learn about so many varieties of dates and their flavor profiles, I had no idea. My one gripe would be there weren’t enough photographs of the dishes. I prefer that cookbooks have a photo of most if not all of the recipes included. It really helps readers to figure out what to make. Also it would have been nice if there were more non meat options but there are at least a few of those. Nice that not every baking recipe included used eggs.
Reviewer 1015462
For some reason as I child I did not like dates - perhaps the texture didn't appeal, or perhaps I had only tried some really dry and crumbly ones. In the past decade or so I discovered the many varieties and flavors of dates (barhi is currently my favorite) via my farmers market . I've also recently learned about their health benefits and started using date syrup in beverages and I want to try using date sugar in baking, so I'm super excited to find this book! The photos and illustrations are beautiful. I love that this book has such a range of recipes not only for different meals of the day but also different cultural influences and flavor profiles. Some recipes that caught my eye include: date and tahini granola, pumpkin pancakes with warm ras el hanout syrup, Moroccan avocado smoothies, barbecue mushroom steaks with cornbread crumbles, lamb & pumpkin pasta, yellow Barhi and green apple kale salad, whole roasted pineapple draped in spiced caramel, and spiced date chili crisp. The book also offers suggested menus and recommended retailers for sourcing dates and other ingredients used in the book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.
Sandy S, Reviewer
I love dates. This book sounded right up my alley. I know I’ll be making a few of these recipes for sure!
So many interesting ideas in this cookbook!
Abigail J, Reviewer
I'm learning so much from my hot date! Jokes aside, I truly have gained a greater knowledge of the sometimes forgotten superfood that is the date. From the anatomy to the different varieties, flavour notes, and forms you can transform them into. The recipes are unique and fun having pairings I would never even think to have combined with a date. My most favourite aspect of this cookbook is the illustrations, they pop out from the pages and make reading this book even more enjoyable.
Ashley B, Reviewer
I definitely requested this book based on the title not even reading the synopsis. I was pleasantly surprised on the recipes that were included. I don't really have access to all the ingredients so I'm going to look for some and try one of the recipes but I thought the information provided was decent. I enjoyed the history behind the different types of dates.
Thank you to Chronicle Books and #Netgalley for the early copy.
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