Before I head off on vacation I wanted to do a post about this cookbook. This book actually crossed the path a close friend of mine and in turn was given me. Fit for a King: The Elvis Presley Cookbook By Elizabeth McKeon, Ralph Gervitz and Julie Bandy, 1992 pp.[8] 240, Nashville, Tennessee; Rutledge Hill Press is Southern cooking at it's best. Elvis luved food and nothing was better than down home cooking. In particular his mothers. There was no doubt about that. And she luved to cook and bake for him and his friends. I believe she took Southern hospitality seriously.
There is a condensed Elvis Presley bio, a small introduction and also a foreword by one of his cooks, Alvena Roy. Menu suggestions help you plan out your Southern meal. Personal and publicity black and white photographs of Elvis and Elvis trivia are laced throughout. I feel it's quite the collectors book... or a cookbook collectors book. I also luv how on the half title page the previous owners inscription is in the upper left hand corner and states that it was bought in Las Vegas, of all places! It can't get any better than that. With over 100 recipes the book is divided into eight sections: Appetizers, Beverages, Bread, Desserts, Main Dishes, Salads, Side Dishes and Soups and Salads.
This page of the cookbook I found very interesting. It's a list of things that Elvis liked to have in the pantry. Just click on the photo to enlarge. I have made a version of an Elvis pound cake, not the one from this cookbook. I had to look past the seven eggs and three cups of sugar... I think and I can't remember how much butter. I just know I was surprised with the amounts. Still, look past that and you have one delicious cake that tasted like no other. Mind you I have only made it once. This cookbook's pound cake calls for four eggs and one cup of sugar and one cup of butter. You can certainly substitute ingredients for lower fat versions but it wouldn't be Southern cooking then I find. If you do find a copy of this cookbook I do recommend picking it up because the recipes are suitable for a King or Queen! -JW