There are some secrets too terrible to be spoken aloud.

For example, Beefaroni.

I love it.

Every once in awhile I just have to have it. I cannot live, I cannot find peace, until I have a bowl of that most magnificent creation of master-Chef Boyardee. It is my guilty culinary pleasure. Its tomato-ish aroma carries me back to the long-ago scents of crayons and Play-Doh.

Call it comfort food. Call it a retreat to the dietary womb. For you, it might be corn dogs or SpaghettiOs. Or Jiffy Pop, Eskimo Pies or White Castle hamburgers. But be not embarrassed! You and I are not alone. Even the cultured, the powerful and the famous have their own guilty food pleasures:

Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton: "Nothing beats good old-fashioned American fries or fresh-cut French fries."

Mayor Dave Cieslewicz: "I've discovered the Texas Fritos (the restaurant terms it Frito Pie) at Tex Tubb's. They just open a small bag of Fritos and glob on chili, cheese, etc., warm it up, toss on some sour cream and there you have it. I tried this at home and learned that Fritos bags have an aluminum layer on the inside of the bag, which is a bad thing in a microwave. … Still, very tasty even after the fireworks."

Rick Mackie, executive director, Madison Symphony: "Snickers!"

Mark Koehn, WISC anchor: "There are so many from which to choose, but my all-time guilty food pleasure is Cheetos. Has to be the crunchy kind, not the puffs. And a good Cheeto session doesn't count unless your fingers are stained orange which you can't wash off. I don't know what's in the stuff, but sure 'em tasty."

Norman Gilliland, host, Wisconsin Public Radio's "Morning Classics": "For me a nice lunch would be a device called a tuna doobie: tuna mixed with lots of shredded Swiss cheese, chopped celery and pickle relish all baked in a hotdog bun. My wife hates the relish part. For dessert, a handful of various flavors of Jelly Belly jelly beans, colloquially known as Jelly Bellies.

"One of my notorious childhood experiments was graham crackers coated with yellow mustard between two slices of bread, which, as they say, explains a lot."

Barb Dimick, director, Madison Public Library: "M&Ms. I sneak to the vending machine at work when I'm sure no one is looking, and eat them secretly at my desk, one by one."

Stephen Fleischman, director, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art: "I have been attending West Madison Little League games for over a decade and have developed a profound love for slushies. Any color will do."

Julie Jensen, managing director, Madison Repertory Theatre: "My husband calls them my 'Carney Food cravings.' Once a year or so, I order fried cheese curds. They taste great, but I always feel a little sick after eating them — because I eat way too many, I suspect. I also like a Taco Bravo from Taco John's. Yummy! And nothing brings back childhood-summer memories like an ice cream sandwich. I used to eat one every day at the pool."

Vanessa Shirley, WKOW anchor/reporter: "Being from the Southwest, I'm addicted to Mexican food — beans and rice, tortillas, enchiladas, tacos … and lots of cheese and salsa! And, if my waistline allowed, I'd eat Reese's Peanut Butter Cups every day!"

W. Earle Smith, artistic director, Madison Ballet: "My big secret is sneaking Ho-Hos into the theater. The funniest thing about it is I still eat them like I did when I was a kid: I peel off all the chocolate to get to the cake and frosting in the middle. I am sure it's a funny sight to see a grown-up with chocolate all over his face and fingers."

Allan Naplan, general director, Madison Opera: "My personal guilty pleasure would be pretty much any flavor of Ben & Jerry's ice cream, with special preference given to their Phish Food and Americone Dream!"

Ralph Russo, director, Wisconsin Union Theater: "What comes to mind first is a funnel cake: deep-fried dough topped with lots of powered sugar. Yum, and oh, so unhealthy. It's an essential treat at county and state fairs, festivals, and even a few ball parks. For whatever reason, I can't seem to resist."

Lisa Thurrell, artistic director, Kanopy Dance: "I love the awful little donut holes that you can only get at the Dane County Fair. Oh, and of course, the traditional chocolate donut with chocolate frosting on top that has the icky white cream filling. None of it really tastes like chocolate!"

Patty Loew, host of Wisconsin Public Television's "In Wisconsin": "For me, it's marshmallow Peeps, but only if they're stale. Every Easter, my parents would hide baskets for my brother and me. He and I would open up the box of Peeps and put them in a window sill to 'season.' There was an art to it. You couldn't let them get too stale, as in rock hard. There's a point when a properly seasoned Peep loses its softness and gets really chewy … almost 'pull-your-teeth-out' taffylike.

"To me, a proper Peep requires the same attention to detail as an aged cheese, a fine wine or a single malt scotch. Stale Peeps have become a Loew family tradition. Even today when my brother and I get together for Easter, we'll bring each other Peeps. The full measure of our love is evidenced by the energy we invest in the weeks leading up to Easter and the 'ta-DA' moment when we present the gift and announce … 'and they're stale!' "