The Presley Family Cookbook

As head cook at Elvis Presley's Graceland, Rooks prepared food fit for the King from 1967 until his death. This collection contains classic recipes for Southern cooking at its best--including the must-have recipe for all Elvis fans: the original Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich.

Containing nearly 300 recipes, this cookbook features a special blend of memories and photographs compiled by the people who knew Elvis best--his personal cook, family, friends, and fellow performers.

Graceland's Table is the first cookbook written with the full cooperation of Elvis Presley Enterprises. In addition to recipes from fans for Elvis, the book includes photographs of Elvis at home and full-color food photos taken in Graceland for the book. The 175 recipes in Graceland's Table come from two sources: EPE's archives of Elvis's favorite recipes and Elvis's fans. The recipes from the fans were solicited through EPE's electronic newsletter, its catalog, and the more than 400 fan clubs. Fans submitted a recipe they would have liked to cook for Elvis should they have been invited to Graceland for a meal and explained the reason for their choice. Fans were asked to submit recipes linked to a particular song or movie title or person in Elvis's life (e.g. Love Me Chicken Tenders, Colonel Parkerhouse Rolls, Blue Suede Berry Pie). Twelve recipes came from EPE and over 150 from the fans. The book also has 35 B&W photos of Elvis and Graceland and 20 full-color food photos, trivia, and stories by those who knew Elvis such as Joe Esposito, Elvis's road manager, Patty Perry, the only female member of the Memphis Mafia, and Marian Cocke, Elvis's nurse.

Elvis fans can eat like the King with this collection of more than 300 recipes from his family and friends. All of Elvis' favorites, from the famous Friend Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich to southern classics like cornbread and collard greens. Over 100 black-and-white and color photographs offer an intimate look at the King relaxing with his family, taking breaks from performing, and—of course—eating. Personal accounts from Elvis' cousins, close friends and his personal cook of more than 25 years detail the intimate side of Elvis and his everyday life, and fun facts and trivia offer even more insight and nostalgia. Just a few of the delicious recipes in this culinary tribute to the King: • Sweetheart Sweet Potato Surprise • Aunt Alice's Great Pork Chop Skillet Dinner • Elvis' Favorite Roast Beef • Moody Blue Meat Loaf • Britches Barbecue Brisket

Kitty Dolan recalls a visit with Elvis in Killeen, Texas, right after his mother's death. "We drove in Elvis's white Cadillac to the house they had rented from Judge Crawford. . . .That night we sat down to dinner, with Elvis at one end of the table and his father at the other. Then his grandmother. There was a big platter of white bread for sandwich makings and a big platter of southern baked beans. Theat was topped off with a delicious pie his Grandmammy had baked. Elvis looked at me with a shy, little smile and said, 'I hope you like our southern cooking.'" Elvis Presley liked traditional southern cooking. In Fit for a KingTM are more then 300 recipes for the foods Elvis enjoyed, including many from his longtime cook Alvena Roy. Also included are menus for meals served at Graceland, for Elvis and Priscilla's wedding reception, for the Beatles' visit, and for Christmas in Memphis. The memories Elvis's friends have of mealtimes with him at Graceland depict him as a thoughtful, considerate, and fun-loving person. Many of the seventy photographs are published here for the first time.

This biography of Elvis Presley is told through the food he ate. Perhaps because of his dirt-poor childhood, nothing mattered more to Elvis other than food.