What's YOUR Guilty Pleasure?

Nearly every year for the past 10 years or so, I have emailed a question for my good friends to answer.  Their responses help me to select their Christmas gifts.  Questions in the past have ranged from "What's your favorite animal?" to "What one quality best describes you?"  The answers are always interesting and more often than not, I learn a little bit more about people I thought I already knew well.  The best response to the "What's your favorite animal?" query came from TC who fired back, "To eat or to keep as a pet?"  Guess who got coal in his stocking that year?

This year the question is, you guessed it, "What's your guilty pleasure?"  Since I knew this particular phrasing was going to open a whole can of worms with some of my smart-alecky friends, I did give them a few guidelines:  keep it clean, make sure it was something few people would know or guess and of course, make sure you are comfortable sharing it. 

One friend, SK, always provides long and detailed responses to my annual question which he cc's to his wife--in case she also needs gift-giving ideas.  He went pretty far out on a limb with some of his GPs; a few of them definitely fall into the category of, "I would never have guessed that of you" (he did follow the guidelines and kept it clean, but still).  After his response, I expected more stunners from my other friends; instead I was amused by how many of the responses were food-related:  chocolate, candy, chili hot dogs from Zippy's, Dairy Queen butterscotch-dipped cones and McDonald's milkshakes were prominent contenders and the overall reason for their selection seemed to be a combination of flavor, childhood nostalgia or as a reward for "good behavior" (like exercising!).

That's when I realized that nearly all of my own GPs also revolve around food.  Except for being, I admit it, a fan of Barry Manilow and a player of a game that shall remain nameless, my GPs are pretty much foods I like to eat, often while I am enjoying a good book. And that's where the guilty part of the pleasure comes in.  Normally, one of the things I like best about food is the social aspect; sitting around a table of good food with good conversation is one of my absolute favorite things and yet my GP foods are those I would much rather enjoy alone. The reason for that is obvious; if I feel guilty while I'm eating it, it's probably bad for me and if I am eating things that are bad for me, well, the fewer witnesses, the better!

Popcorn sprinkled with grated Parmesan cheese is a favorite I have enjoyed for years--it's cheesy, salty, crispy goodness and each bite tastes better than the one before it.  I HAVE to eat it by myself;  E doesn't like popcorn and I find that eating a dish in front of someone who refuses to see the point tempers the "mmmm" factor.  I also can't eat it in front of the kids--that's a dangerous proposition; sometimes, they expect me to share it.  The nerve.

So I continue to enjoy my Parmesan topped popcorn in total solitude. Because when it comes to guilty pleasures, that's just the way it should be.