Customer Reviews

Are You Hungry Tonight?: Elvis' Favorite Recipes

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Elvis Presley may have been the King, but he ate like a common man---and this book is filled with common Southern fare that will stick to your ribs (and probably hips!) I particularly enjoyed trying Elvis' signature dish, the fried peanut butter and banana sandwich, as well as the banana pudding which was prepared daily at Graceland so it would always be available for late-night snacking. Also getting high marks from me are the recipes for biscuits and red-eye gravy, potato cheese soup, heavenly mashed potatoes and more. The book features great pictures of Elvis including one of he and Priscilla cutting the Royal Wedding Cake. And yes, the recipe for that six-tiered mountain of a cake is included (serves 500 so do invite a friend over). A delightful romp in the kitchen for fans of Elvis and a great cookbook for those who like down-home cooking.

I received this book during a tongue-in-cheek, Elvis-themed Christmas Eve gift exchange with my family. Expecting the worst, I was very pleasantly surprised by this kitchy, useful volume.

The book contains a collection of Elvis's favorite recipes interspersed with candid photos from his movie shoots and concerts. Almost all the pictures feature Elvis snacking away with a gorgeous starlet by his side.

The recipes are homestyle, country cooking. Heavy on grease, light on nutritional value, the delicacies include everything from pie to fried peanut butter sandwiches.

Chefs/Elvis-philes will be delighted by the last section of the book which gives step-by-step instructions on how to make the Elvis/Pricilla wedding cake. The recipe comes complete with cake patterns and dimensions. Therefore, if you are planning to have an Elvis-themed wedding, this book is a necessity.

While the recipes are good (especially the deserts), one should keep in mind that this is more of a silly romp than a full-fledged cookbook. Also, the book is on the short side. (Think quality over quantity, in this case.) However, it is so clever and nicely done that it is worth your pennies and your time.

Every pie in this book is fantastic. The brownies are wonderful, and the chicken pot pies are easy and delicious. Ignore the silly stuff (fried banana sandwiches). Has detailed instructions on making the Elvis and Priscilla wedding cake - a great gift for any bride to be with affection for Elvis.

Excellent recipes that surprisingly never call for lard. These are all wonderful, from the burnt-bacon BLT to the ham and apple sauce. The chicken-pot-pie, meatloaf and gravy, biscuits, fried chicken, and corn recipes are standard favorites. There is a false note in the "blueberry pie" recipe, since Elvis was from the river delta (the flatlands), not the hills (the foothills beginning near Jackson, Tennessee, where the author is from). The recipe for Elvis and Priscilla's wedding cake is no doubt attached for the "completists' only of Elvis fans, and adds little practical to the book, but is a welcome curiosity of kitsch. The famous fried-peanut-butter and banana sandwich (not deep fried, it is pan fried, BTW) is actually a common winter staple grilled sandwich for certain southern homes: a real kid pleaser. Banana pudding with Nilla vanilla wafers is here too (although true authentic details are left out). And Elvis's love of thick slices of fresh beefsteak tomatoes is alluded to throughout (the one food item everyone aggress on that he loved).

The combination of author's devotion and the wry art production make this an excellent example of hidden humor. Check out the recipe for glazed donuts and the photo of Elvis making the "ok" sign with thumb and forefinger, and you know for what to look for in the rest of the book. The spaghetti and meatballs recipe with Elvis giving a meatball smile is also too rich to ignore.

Elvis loved to eat. Who doesn't know that? This was a good concept for a cook book, and the recipes are quite good. It's comfort food but they made a point to include a chapter on vegetables subtitled with "Yes, the King ate vegetables". There are many typically Southern foods (grits, biscuits and red eye gravy, fried chicken, etc.), but the main dishes are crowd pleasers.

What prevented me from giving this 5 stars is the fact that these recipes are old fashioned. Elvis lived in the days before time saving cooking devices (the microwave, for example) and a lot of prepared foods. No doubt as the child of sharecroppers in Post Depression Era Mississippi they probably spent a lot of time cooking, canning and storing foods than the average person would today. These recipes are more labor intensive than even the most experienced cook is used to.

It includes the famous peanut butter and banana sandwiches. Deep fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches. This sandwich is the singular staple of Elvis's diet that has taken on a life of its own. They're good eating, for sure. Lisa Marie said recently about this odd phenomena that will this will never die, she never once saw Elvis eat a peanut butter and banana sandwich (at least not in front of her).

To me, the crowning achievement of this book was the release of the Elvis and Priscilla wedding cake recipe, but it was also the most ridiculous. This is a tremendous project, and they recommend that if you've never prepared something like this before to not only pick up utensils and ingredients at a wholesale bakery shop but to set aside at least 3 days to assemble it. Why someone who would want to replicate this would do this in their home kitchen is beyond me.

It was really fun learning about Elvis....Also, I have made some of the recipes and they were really good....I really enjoyed this cookbook....

What a great cookbook. It has amazing recipes that make you feel like you're truly eating like royalty. I just hope I don't get found dead with my head in the toilet!

This Book has amazing photographs on every page, and delicious recipes. By far one of the best Elvis cook books I've ever purchased.

I bought this book as a gift for my boyfriend, who is a big fan of Elvis and loves to cook. The book includes fantastic photos and Southern staples. This book is really for the Elvis fans who might want to cook--or simply want a nice book to display. The recipes are perfectly attainable and their "old fashioned" techniques are not hard to master. Good cooking takes time, love, and some rockin tunes.

Very few recipes, very few pictures of Elvis, very much a slap-dash cobbled together effort. Nothing unique here other than the wedding cake.