Dates

San Francisco chef Chris Cosentino is an avid cyclist who often takes lengthy rides. He developed these clean bars to take on the road: They have minimal ingredients but pack a ton of flavor. His secret ingredient is coffee salt, which gives a jolt of energy while also replenishing sodium levels.

These tender scones offer an irresistible mix of sweet and salty thanks to the chopped dates in the batter and the salted butter served alongside.

This timeless tapa from Spanish cookbook author Penelope Casas has everything going for it—it's sweet, smoky and savory, all in one bite.

Jeff Cerciello says the inspiration to combine parsnips and dates came from Moro, a Moorish restaurant in London. To get the parsnips nicely browned, he cooks them on the stovetop in batches before roasting them with the dates, which caramelize in the oven.

"One thing I've learned as a chef is not to overfeed your customers—a food coma is very unpleasant," says Charlie Parker of Plum restaurant in Oakland, California. This salad of grilled spring vegetables feels just filling enough, thanks to the protein-rich quinoa and a puree of dates that are grilled first to soften them and intensify their natural sweetness.

This impressive cool-weather salad is an extraordinarily addictive mix of sweet, crunchy and salty ingredients.

Main-course salads are perfect for light dinners; this one--with nourishing lentils, almonds and plenty of spice-roasted cauliflower--is delicious and satisfying.

At her eponymous restaurant in Vail, Colorado, chef Kelly Liken serves these stellar dates with watercress and a balsamic gastrique (sauce). The recipe here swaps out the gastrique for a basic vinaigrette.

A dusting of unsweetened cocoa adds an appealing bitterness to this simple one-bite dessert.

F&W's Kay Chun dresses her brightly flavored sweet and savory quinoa pilaf with olive oil and lemon juice.

Pastry chefs have become obsessed with pungent cheeses. Eric Estrella of Francois Payard's Manhattan restaurant, InTent, adds tangy feta to cheesecake topped with wine-poached dates.

Keller's trick for yielding extra-flavorful meat is seasoning the roast a day in advance: The lamb takes on the aroma of garlic and thyme as well as a subtle heat from piment d'Espelette, a smoky, mildly spicy ground pepper.

Ana Sortun sometimes uses halloumi, a slightly sweet cow's milk cheese from Cyprus, instead of Greek Kasseri. Alternatively, you can sprinkle crumbled feta over the pita tarts. For round tarts, use a biscuit cutter to stamp out circles from the pitas, before spreading them with the onion-pepper mixture.

Quinoa makes a wonderful breakfast alternative to oatmeal. Cooking it in coconut milk makes for an especially creamy (yet vegan-friendly) start to the day.

This tasty porridge made with quinoa, diced pitted dates, and hints of cinnamon and nutmeg is ready in only twenty-five minutes. Sprinkle with chopped toasted pecans.

Sticky, dried dates are supersweet, so Maura Kilpatrick simmers them with espresso to make a thick paste, which she molds and freezes. When she slices the log to serve, she tops it with pistachios and tangy Greek yogurt.

At No. 9 Park, Barbara Lynch serves a haricots verts salad with a hazelnut vinaigrette. Here, she adds fresh chestnuts to give the dish a meaty fall flavor. Finely chopped dates in the cider vinegar dressing lend a lovely, subtle sweetness.

Padma Lakshmi calls this sauce "liquid heaven." She purees sticky dates with fresh mint, lemon juice and chile, creating a sweet, bright-flavored and slightly spicy sauce. It's a stellar accompaniment to the kathi rolls, but Padma also uses it as a sandwich spread or whisks it into salad dressing.

Bloggers Melissa and Jasmine Hemsley make this minimalist recipe with healthy fats--coconut oil and roasted almond butter--for a sticky, rich and satisfying vegan sweet.

Pastilla (also known as b'steeya) is a traditional Moroccan dish in which phyllo dough is wrapped around a spiced chicken-and-almond filling and baked. This is Pascal Rigo's playful dessert version of that classic.

The Good News Turkey is not only a soporific but a source of iron, zinc, potassium and B vitamins

This date-studded quick bread can be made into mini loaves to give as gifts, or it can be baked as a standard loaf for serving at a meal. The streusel topping uses fresh pecans, a traditional gift in the South.