Hello tdaw,
Thanks for the question!
My first search was elvis +food and immediately found:
http://www.deltaboogie.com/rockabillydays/elvisfood/
The author, Larry Donn notes that:
"...as a child, Elvis ate squirrels, (o') possums, pig's feet, pig's
ears, sweet potatoes, turnip greens and cornbread, and that's just the
high spots."
He also makes mention to generic Southern cooking including beans and
potatoes, not to mention sausage and milk gravy, and grits or
chit-lins (grits come from corn, and chit'lins, or chitterlings, are
the boiled intestines of animals.)
In his research, he found: "A cook at Humes High School said Elvis
liked "sloppy joes", which is a ground beef mixed with barbecue-like
sauce.
More intersting tid-bits in this article proclaim:
...Elvis ate with his fingers a lot
...for a week before his death, Elvis had been on a diet of nothing
but Jello (a brand of gelatin pudding)
...Elvis heard about a restaurant in Denver that made great peanut
butter and jelly sandwiches, so he flew to Denver and had twnety-two
of them delivered to the runway
...Mary Jenkins, who cooked for Elvis at Graceland for many years,
said...he liked banana pudding, and also liked hot dogs with
sauerkraut, and barbecue pizza (regular pizza with barbecued pork and
barbecue sauce on top)
Its starting to seem like there is little you can go wrong serving at
an Elvis celebration dinner!
And Mr. Donn anticipated your question in his article with this
suggestion:
"I think it would be a great idea if all Elvis fans ate pig's ears and
possum every year on Elvis Day as a sort of memorial rite. Possum
might be a little hard to find for some people, so maybe we could make
the second dish turnip greens or sweet potatoes. Pig's ears you can
get at your local meatery, which is much easier and considerably less
messy than collecting them directly from the pig. "
I found the following recipe at http://www.b100.ca/elvisfood.html:
Two cups brown sugar
1/2 cup of margarine
1 cup of rolled oats
1 cup of boiling water over it
& stand for 20 min.
Add 1 cup flour
1 tsp of soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp of all-spice
Standard butter icing
*Add raisins if you can afford it
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes & hope for the best!
And http://www.foodreference.com/html/fpresleyelvis.html claims that
:" According to The Great Food Almanac by Irena Chalmers, the last
food that Elvis Presley ate was four scoops of ice cream and 6
chocolate chip cookies. "
http://www.handwriting.org/archives/97aug_02.html finally arrives at
the data I knew I would find:
"Elvis liked rich food and was fond of peanut butter and banana
sandwiches that were fried in butter." I have heard this for years
from many sources and I would say it might be THE most appropriate
food to serve at your celebration. Perhaps as an appetizer or desert?
http://www.turnersouth.com/southern-living-presents/story/0,10907,73,00.html
goes as far as to pot the recipe:
Fried Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich
3 tbsps. peanut butter, smooth
2 slices white bread
2 tbsps. butter
1 small banana, ripe
In a small bowl, mash the banana with a fork or the back of a spoon.
Lightly toast the bread, for easier spreading. Spread the peanut
butter on one piece of toast and the mashed banana on the other.
Spread both sides of the sandwich with butter. Place in frying pan
until each side is golden brown. Cut diagonally and serve hot.
And suggests the following for recommended Reading:
Are You Hungry Tonight? Elvis' Favorite Recipes, Brenda Butler,
editor, (Grammercy, 1992)
Fit for a King: The Elvis Presley Cookbook, Elizabeth McKeon, Ralph
Gevirtz, Julie Bandy, (Grammercy, 1998)
Here are a few more recipes from
http://www.epicurious.com/e_eating/e08_elvis/elvis.html:
FRIED OKRA
1 pound young okra
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste
Dash cayenne pepper
Cut off the stems and the tips of the okra pods. Wash thoroughly and
place them in a pan of boiling salted water. Cook for about 8 minutes.
Drain and let dry thoroughly.
In a mixing bowl. Blend the cornmeal. Fry in deep fat (350°) or sauté
in butter until brown.
Makes 6 servings.
And...
SOUR MILK CORN BREAD
2 cups sour milk
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1 1/2 cups cornmeal, sifted
1/4 cup shortening melted
In a mixing bowl blend the milk with the baking soda. In a separate
bowl beat the eggs. Add the salt and sugar. Blend in the milk mixture,
flour, and cornmeal. Stir in the melted shortening. Mix lightly but
thoroughly.
Pour the batter into a hot, greased shallow baking pan. Bake at 375°
for about 25 to 35 minutes or until golden. by Elizabeth McKeon, Ralph
Gevirtz, and Julie Bandy,
Makes 1 loaf.
As well as ...
MEAT LOAF
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste
1 cup bread crumbs
Gravy or tomato sauce
In a large mixing bowl combine the beef and egg. Add the milk, mixing
thoroughly. Add the salt, pepper, and bread crumbs. Shape into a loaf.
Place the loaf in a lightly oiled glass pan. Bake at 350° for 1 hour
or until the meat is brown and the inside is cooked. Serve with gravy
or tomato sauce.
Makes 6 servings.
All from: "Fit For a King"
Elizabeth McKeon, Ralph Gevirtz, and Julie Bandy Copyright © 1992,
Rutledge Hill Press
Another great lead appears at
http://www.sunnews.com/food/food1998/food060498.htm, where Barabara
Bratel Collier announces:
""Are You Hungry Tonight?" is a cookbook composed of recipes for more
than 50 of the rock 'n' roll legend's favorite foods. To big-time
Elvis fans, the great photographs of him at various stages of his
career will undoubtedly be as important as the recipes.
Though Presley lived like a king, he ate and preferred food of common
folks. Wherever he traveled, he sought food similiar to the kind of
home cooking mother Gladys put on the table in his native Tupelo,
Miss. "
She echoes his passion for fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches,
though "he would eat a burger at any time of day. Fried chicken, ham
and meatloaf were among his choice dinner entrees, each always served
with homemade gravy."
One recipe from her page follows:
This tasty soup was a lunchtime favorite of Elvis. He liked this
potato cheese soup because he said it had "stick-to-your-ribs" flavor.
POTATO CHEESE SOUP
2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup celery, chopped finely
1/3 cup onion, chopped finely
4 cups Russet potatoes, pared into 1/2-inch cubes
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups milk
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Dash paprika
2 cups sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
French fried onion rings or croutons (optional)
In large saucepan, melt butter. Add celery and onion; cook over medium
heat, stirring frequently, until tender. Add potatoes and chicken
broth; simmer until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.
Pour mixture into blender and blend until smooth. Return to saucepan.
Stir in milk and seasonings. Heat through. Add cheese, stirring until
melted.
I'll let you peruse the others.
I'll close with the following which is Elvis' shopping list from
Graceland of items that must be kept "for Elvis - AT ALL TIMES, EVERY
DAY". http://www.ibiblio.org/elvis/shoplist.html
fresh, lean, unfrozen ground meat
one case regular Pepsi
one case orange drinks
rolls (hot rolls - Brown 'n' Serve)
cans of biscuits (at least six)
hamburger buns
pickles
potatoes and onions
assorted fresh fruits
cans of sauerkraut
wieners
at least three bottles of milk and 1/2 & 1/2 cream
thin, lean bacon
mustard
peanut butter
fresh, hand-squeezed cold orange juice
banana pudding (to be made each night)
ingredients for meat loaf and sauce
brownies (to be made each night)
ice cream - vanilla and chocolate
shredded coconut
fudge cookies
gum (Spearmint, Doublemint, Juicy Fruit - three each)
cigars (El Producto Diamond Tips & El Producto Altas)
cigarettes
Dristan
Super Anahist
Contac
Sucrets (antibiotic red box)
Feenamint gum
matches (four to five books)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This list is taken from the book "The Life and Cuisine of Elvis
Presley"
Well, I don't know about you, but now I'm hungry!!!
Have a wonderful dinner this Friday and enjoy your Elvis Celebration!
-=clouseau-ga=- |
