Linguine with Clams, Mussels and Bacon

Sometimes you just get a craving for some really good pasta that's super flavorful but not too complicated to make.  Here's the recipe for my last craving: 

Lobster Risotto with Roasted Asparagus

On Valentine's Day we kind of forgot to make reservations at the restaurant we had picked out... so we ended up at home cooking dinner instead.  That's always fine by me though, it's cheaper and just as fun and delicious.  Making lobster seemed like a very cliche thing to make on Valentine's Day, so off to the store we went.  Lobster Risotto is what we decided on.  I am a huge fan of risotto for several different reasons.  It's relatively cheap to make, it's filling and it can feed a lot of people.   It turned out great!  Here's how to make it:

Nutella Palmiers

Palmiers are a really easy cookie to make with very few ingredients.  You can easily switch around the ingredients to make any variety, even savory palmiers.  I made these for our Valentine's Day dessert along with some Red Velvet Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting that I made earlier in the week, hehe.  Palmiers are supposed to look like elephant ears, and they do!  Here's how to make them:

Red Velvet Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

Happy Valentine's Day!  Here's a great recipe for chewy red velvet cookies with tangy cream cheese frosting.  They're addictive!  I made these for Drew this year. :)  Here's how to make them:

Ghostbusters - Salted Caramel Candy Bars with Ghost Pepper SpicedChocolate and a Pretzel Crust

When Drew and I first started dating, one of the first things he ever gave me was a bag of spices from a local spice shop in Charlotte.  He picked out unique spices and blends so we could get creative in the kitchen together.  Knowing I love all things spicy, he got some ghost pepper salt.  Ghost peppers are one of the hottest peppers in the world.  It's really spicy and I couldn't think of a lot to use it in.  Unique flavor combinations are all the rage nowadays.  Sweet and salty, sweet and savory, sweet and spicy.. you get it.  I had recently had chocolate covered bacon with cayenne pepper and it inspired me to use the ghost salt with chocolate in some way.  So here's what we came up with.  Homemade candy bars with salted caramel and ghost pepper spiced chocolate.  They're hot but not too hot.  It sneaks up on you and shocks you for a minute but then it fades quickly.  They're so good!  I love the rustic look of them.  We jokingly called the Ghostbusters and the name stuck.  Here's how to make them:

 

French Toast Crunch French Toast

Nostalgia in a box.  This was my favorite cereal in the 90s and it's back!  I heard it was coming back to stores but I didn't believe it until I saw it.  We looked for it every time we were in the grocery store but never found it.  Then one day strolling through Target, there it was.  A miracle on the cereal isle.  Two boxes in my cart!  I don't even eat cereal anymore, but I had to get some!  Tastes like memories.  I knew right away I wanted to make French toast and crust it with this cereal.  Hello.. the name is French Toast Crunch after all.  Here's how to make it: