The other day, I was shopping and saw packages of big, fresh dates. They immediately brought me back to when my parents lived in the desert and we used to always stop for date shakes. Nostalgia won out. I had to bring some dates home with me.
Now what do I do with them besides snack on them? I came across this food article in the LA Times this morning and they have some beautiful recipes that use dates, such as braised chicken in cinnamon-and-chile-spiked coconut milk, topped with pieces of dates, or thick-cut pork chops, covered in a quick beurre blanc sauce and studded with almonds, herbs and chewy rings of dates, or date, cabbage slaw, or an appetizer of warm dates, sauteed in olive oil infused with za’atar and thyme and served with cold slabs of salty feta...the list goes on. All of these sounded so sophisticated and super yummy. I'm gonna have to try some!
https://www.latimes.com/recipes-usin...-a-sweet-snack
(The Times may not let you into the site if you don't have a subscription. Just let me know if you want me to retrieve a recipe for you.)