Hot Date!

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:

• 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

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

"A stylish and unexpected entry into the pantheon of great contemporary cookbooks...This extraordinary book expounds on a single ingredient--the titular date--and takes it in startling, awe-inspiring directions, all while keeping recipes relatively simple." --BookPage, starred review

"The stunning cookbook debut from poet and artist Alkhatib sings the praises of dates... [her] sumptuous paintings, narrative anecdotes, and illustrated poetry make this more than just a cookbook. It's a powerful ode to a multifaceted fruit.""--Publishers Weekly, starred review

"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

Rawaan Alkhatib is a home cook, writer, and artist of Palestinian and Indian descent who was born and raised in Dubai, UAE, where she experienced first-hand the warmth and generosity of a date-centric culture. Rawaan holds an MFA in poetry from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and has taught poetry and creative writing at the University of Iowa and Kean University. Currently, she works on the content development side of museum exhibit design. She is an illustrator and textile designer with a deep roster of collaborations and independent projects, including children’s books, cover designs for an independent poetry press, exclusive silk scarves for Cole Haan, and much more. In 2020, Rawaan developed recipes and art for a date-themed cookie collaboration with the award-winning Mirzam Chocolate, Dubai’s first bean-to-bar chocolatier. In 2022, she created a date-themed spice blend collection in celebration of Ramadan with Atef Boulaabi of NYC’s legendary spice and rare ingredient purveyor SOS Chefs. She now lives in Brooklyn, New York, where she continues to hone her cooking practice.

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