Are You Hungry Tonight?: Elvis' Favorite Recipes (Hardcover)

~ Brenda Butler (Compiler) "You don't generally find a Yankee starting the day with red-eye gravy, but for folks growing up south of the Mason-Dixon line, there is little..." (more)
Key Phrases: sugar hearts, separator plates, cups egg whites, Las Vegas (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Mamma's mashed potatoes and lemon meringue pie, Priscilla's extravagant wedding cake--the King is gone but his favorite meals live on in this cookbook, packed with enough photographs of the singer to delight any Elvis aficionado.

From the Inside Flap

More than 50 of Elvis' favorite recipes. Includes his mama's recipes for mashed potatoes and lemon meringue pie, peanut butter and 'nana sandwiches' and Priscilla's magnificent wedding cake (make the whole thing or only a tier). With great pictures of Elvis at work and play as well as full-color food photography. 70 photos, mostly color. 64 pages. 8 1/2 X 11. GRAMERCY.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: Gramercy (August 31, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 051708242X
• ISBN-13: 978-0517082423
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #565,084 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Share A Meal From the Heartburn Hotel, February 28, 2001

By	Antoinette Klein (Hoover, Alabama USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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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.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Silly, Grease-laden, and Fun, January 8, 2001

By	njbookworm (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Old fashioned, deep fried goodness, September 9, 2005

By	MortensOrchid (Cleveland, OH) - See all my reviews

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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.