Loopy but luscious

Take two things you love and put them together--chocolate and chipotle peppers, for instance.

Wonderful.

Add salt.

Amazing.

Add Pop Rocks.

Okay, now you're getting a little weird. Pop Rocks? That's kid stuff, like putting chocolate syrup on your Froot Loops. We moved beyond that years ago! Adults don't pop Pop Rocks! In fact, no connoisseur of serious chocolate would be caught dead in the presence of a package of Pop Rocks!

But hide some Pop Rocks in this amazing dark-chocolate-chipotle-and-salt concoction and that's another story. Chuau Chocolatier (find it here) creates unusual combinations of chocolate with, for instance, hot peppers, honey, or anise and coffee. The hubby found some half-price Firecracker bars and couldn't resist bringing one home, and what a bizarre experience: first, smooth dark chocolate goodness; next, a little kick from the peppers and salt; finally, popping firecrackers right in your mouth. Weird but wonderful.

And if you keep your mouth shut, no one has to know about the Pop Rocks.