What Would Elvis Eat? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Coffee

This recipe appears in "Are You Hungry Tonight?: Elvis' Favorite Recipes" by Brenda Butler.

(Fair warning: By the end of this quiz, you'll have read about enough Elvis cookbooks you might be inspired to start your own collection. Don't blame me if you gain so much weight you have trouble squeezing into that sequined jumpsuit.)

Answer: Scrapple

Cornmeal mush, hominy grits (coarsely ground hulled corn) and cornbread begin many a Southern day. Scrapple, a favorite of Elvis Presley's, is made with pork (sometimes leftover scraps and the less-desireable parts of the pig, as the name implies). The ubiquitious cornmeal often also finds its way into scrapple, although it may instead be thickened with buckwheat, oats, or barley.

Answer: Tunafish

Priscilla Presley, who liked tunafish sandwiches, reportedly could only eat them when Elvis was away from Graceland, as the King couldn't bear any kind of fish. (Hey, was this boy not Southern? Fried catfish, people!)

Elvis's shopping list, from "The Life and Cuisine of Elvis Presley", can be viewed at www.ibiblio.org/elvis/shoplist.html.

Answer: All of these

"Barbecue is an exploding phenomenon," says Carolyn Wells, executive director of the Kansas City Barbecue Society. "We've gone through all the ethnic foods and now we're coming back to our roots. Barbecue is the only truly indigenous American cuisine."
(From www.samcooks.com/flavor/Barbeque.htm)

The specialty in Memphis is pork ribs, often "wet" (with spicy sauce) rather than "dry" (rubbed with the spices). Elvis loved all barbecue, even barbecue pizza.

Answer: Meatloaf

Elvis loved meatloaf. Recipes abound in all the Elvis cookbooks, including "The I Love Elvis Cookbook" and "The Presley Family & Friends Cookbook", which has three. (Be warned: The latter book is chock-full of annoying recipe titles like "I Can't Stop Loving You Coconut Cake".)

Elvis was notorious for his dislike of any kind of meat, from hamburgers to prime rib, that was cooked rare. His typical order was to "Burn it". (Yes, this brings to mind a Hunka-hunka burnin' meatloaf. I can't help it.)

Answer: Crème de Menthe

How well Elvis actually liked Grasshopper Pie is unknown, but it's a Southern US specialty. Pies that it's fairly well-documented that Elvis did like are Banana Cream Pie and Lemon Meringue Pie.

Want to try Grasshopper Pie yourself? Find the recipe at
www.recipeland.com/recipe/47866.

Answer: Kraut and weiner sandwiches

The spectacle of someone sick with colon problems indulging in kraut and weiner sandwiches is best banned from the imagination, don't you think? However, that story and more besides can be read at www.epicurious.com/gourmet/features/elvis.

Answer: Are You Hungry Tonight?: Elvis' Favorite Recipes

Perhaps a better title would be "Are You Planning To Be Hungry For Cake Three Days From Now?".

In all fairness, I must clarify that the recipe can be scaled to make just one tier of the Royal cake. But, c'mon. ONE tier?

Answer: Lisa Marie Presley, Elvis's daughter

How true this statement may be is unknown. Another website I visited gave the appalling news that Lisa Marie herself was packing on the pounds from eating...you guessed it...fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches.

If you yourself want to take in about 800 calories and 60 grams of fat, each Elvis cookbook and innumerable websites can tell you how.

Answer: Four scoops of ice cream and six chocolate chip cookies

I am not sure how the coroner estimated the quantities. (Ewwww.)

I hope y'all have enjoyed this look at Cuisine a la King!