One Big Fat Sack of Lard, and that's just the Sandwich


Sunday 23/1/2005

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Diary and Notes

It's the last day of American food week and I'm going Elvis crazy. I've decided to cook a tribute to 'The King', and it's not a burger or (sadly) squirrel fricassee, but his favourite all time sandwich the now famous Velvet Elvis .

So what is this culinary delight that so pleased the king of rock and roll?

A peanut butter, banana and bacon fried sandwich, that's what.

I first heard about this great invention watching a tv programme where all the old friends and employees of the king were asked about his favourite foods. Of course burgers were mentioned, also his love of US army food and a trip of over a thousand miles in his private jumbo jet just to buy a sandwich in Texas which was never eaten, but most interesting of all was his personal cook who described how he would call her at three in the morning, demanding a fried sandwich to help him sleep. The now famous Velvet Elvis (also a series of "Artwork") was a calorie laden heart stopper, that should carry a government health warning.

As far as I can remember his cook never mentioned peanut butter in the recipe. I made one of these before without the peanut butter and it was pretty tasty. However, everyone I spoke to seemed convinced that peanut butter was an essential ingredient and a few websites also claimed that the sandwich was actually just peanut butter and banana and that the bacon was only a sometimes ingredient. So I used peanut butter as well.

Firstly I will say that Elvis's cook was right and it's better without the peanut butter. My American flatmates, Stacey and Ben, think this is because I was using English peanut butter and not American (they reckon Skippy is the best) and they may be right. Also I had maple syrup with it. I'm not sure if Elvis was a maple syrup fan but I just felt it needed sweetening up a bit. And lastly, as a sandwich isn't enough on it's own to be an Elvis dinner, to add to the experience, I made some potato wedges and had some beef jerkey to chew.

I hope Elvis gets to eat these as often as he likes, as he tours the clouds, entertaining the angels. Just don't wiggle those hips in heaven boy.


Cake Blog

Iced Ring Donut, the pink variety.


Menu

  • Elvis Velvet Fried Sandwich
  • Potato Wedges
  • Beef Jerkey



    Ingredients

  • Velvet Elvis: Thick sliced white bread, peanut butter, bacon, bananas, butter, maple syrup.
  • Wedges: Potatoes, vegetable oil, celery salt, paprika, oregano, chilli powder, black pepper.


    Preparation

  • Sandwich: Melt some butter (quite a bit) in a frying pan and fry the bacon in the melted butter. Spread peanut butter on two slices of bread and layer the cooked bacon on top. Next slice banana on the bacon, put the second, peanut buttered slice on top and fry on both sides in the butter until golden brown. Cover in maple syrup and eat.
  • Wedges: Wash some large potatoes and cut into wedge shapes. Boil for a few minutes in salted water and then drain. Bake with a little vegetable oil in a hot oven for about 40 minutes. Shake on the spices and bake for a further 15 mins until crispy and golden.





    JCBorresen@gmail.com