We loved reading the comments in last week’s post about favorite cookbooks. There were so many stories, not just about the cookbooks but where you got them, why they were your favorites and how you so lovingly shared the recipes with others.

Let’s continue the trip down memory lane and, this time, let’s get even more specific. For this week’s Kitchen Talk, we want to know:

What was the first recipe you ever mastered?

Every cooking enthusiast starts somewhere. My start came late, when I was in my twenties, so for me, the first recipe I truly mastered was kalbi, or Korean short ribs. (Apparently, I started late but I didn’t mess around.) It got to the point where my cousins would drop by the house 2 or 3 times a week for a midnight snack dinner of ribs, rice, and Caesar salad. My dad would get out of bed because of the commotion, find us all seated at the dinner table for a full meal at 12:30am, shake his head and go back to bed. To this day, it’s still one of my favorite things to make.

How about you? What was the first recipe you mastered, or the one that truly became your signature dish? Was it your mom’s recipe for pancakes? Cookies that everyone started asking you to make for them? Those ever-so-light biscuits you learned from your grandmother? Come tell us your story! And if you’ve posted the recipe here or elsewhere online, feel free to share the link, too!

 
I have a problem.

I can’t remember the last time I’ve been to a supermarket without adding a package of fatty porky goodness in my cart. Or approached a new menu without scanning first for a dish containing the “b” word. My weakness? An all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet.

Some might call it a obsession; my husband just accepts my problem and counts his blessings that my thrill is cheap. Because my fixation could have been diamonds, Gucci purses or something that would require a line of credit to fulfill.

But I think my addiction has rubbed off on a certain little someone who’s barely even tall enough to reach the goods at the buffet line.

 
 
 
And like any obsession … it starts with one.

 
 
 
But with enough focus, bravery, stretch and dexterity …

 
 
 
One can easily say, “Like mother, like son.”

 
 
 
What’s your food obsession? Come on—we all have one! Though I fully understand that yours may be healthier, like chickpeas or wheatgrass (which tastes like 5th grade phys-ed class field hockey rotation).

 
 
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Jaden Hair is a food writer, television personality, and food photographer based in Tampa Bay, Florida. Find more of her recipes in her blog, Steamy Kitchen, where you can also read more about Jaden’s new book, The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook, and the rave reviews it’s received!

Okay, I know I’ve been trying to focus on healthy snacks and all, but who am I kidding? Don’t get me wrong—I love fruits and vegetables and hummus, and I’m more likely to reach for the water instead of some sugary drink. But the recipes that excite me the most are usually the naughty ones. The ones that make me want to rub my hands together, inwardly snickering and hatching plans to unleash cruel temptation on my more disciplined friends.

Yeah. I’m a real pal like that.

So today, I figured we should throw caution to the wind. Let’s hold nothing back. I’m not even going to ask you for your favorite indulgences. No, that won’t do. I want the ultimate entry on your list! Tell us:

What’s the most shamelessly sinful dish you’ve ever made—or eaten?

When I tried to come up with my answer to this question, it dawned on me that my top answers are all recipes I discovered right here in TK. And here’s a secret: I like leaving those same food photos on my huge monitor when visitors are around and there’s a chance they might walk past my desk. I get a kick out of watching them do a double take, barely disguising a gasp as they mutter, “What is that?”

Allow me to demonstrate.

Bacon and Brie Quiche. Ha. This once made a 200-pound grown man weak in the knees. Which was kinda dangerous, since he was trying to haul a huge compressor unit for our air conditioning system.

Chocolate Hazelnut Cake. Of course. It’s Nutella in cake form, frosted with even more Nutella. With mascarpone.

French Onion Soup Grilled Cheese Sandwiches. You know you want one. (These aren’t really all that sinful. Unless you’re like me and use a ridiculous amount of additional butter and cheese.)

Scalloped Hasselback Potatoes. Yeah. I’m so not going to apologize.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that I have Tasty Kitchen to thank for some of the most evil dishes to come out of my kitchen. And that I have Tasty Kitchen to blame for some of the most evil dishes to come out of my kitchen.

Now it’s your turn! Time to ‘fess up. We all need an overboard moment now and then, right? (Please say yes.) So jump in, the water’s nice and chocolaty and sprinkled with bacon and cheese!