Frequently when I talk about cooking it makes people in my life feel bad about themselves, which sucks. One, because I don’t have a lot to talk about. Two, because when I worked full-time I ate a lot of frozen mini-corndogs.

Cooking good meals is a privilege. I have the money to buy good ingredients and the time to use them. You should not feel bad if you don’t have this privilege.

Now on to bragging. . . I can make a lot of delicious things without a recipe: marinara, a bunch of soups, chili, fajitas, guacamole, and more things I can’t think of right now.

However, the best thing I make requires me to follow the recipe exactly. This is not my strong suit. My favorite way to cook involves reading 32 recipes and then choosing the things I like the best from each one.

When it comes to Chicago deep dish pizza I follow the exact recipe (for the crust and sauce) that Carnal Dish lays out. And it is, without a doubt, the best. It’s so good I’ve never made it for anyone because I don’t want to “waste” it by making a pizza that’s not sausage, onion, and jalapeño.