ELVIS IN HOLLYWOOD: Recipes Fit for a King

Elvis's infamous fondness for down-home southern cooking (breakfasts of sausage, bacon, and eggs; lunches of mashed potatoes with gravy, sauerkraut, bacon, and biscuits; dinners of fried chicken; fried peanut-butter-and-banana sandwiches for snacks) makes this less a cookbook than a campy tribute to white-trash cuisine and a ""memory book"" (as freelance writer McKeon likes to call it) of the King's days in Hollywood. The author intersperses snippets of information about the Love Me Tender premier, photos of Elvis surrounded by adoring fans, his coffee preferences (very hot with cream and sugar), his constant need to be surrounded by friends, his passion for Pepsi, and his romantic liaisons with various stars (Natalie Wood, Ursula Andress, etc.) with instructions for preparing some of Elvis's favorite dishes. The recipes, organized by course, are easy to follow; but who could go wrong when most have only six to eight ingredients? And is there anyone who thinks so little of cholesterol levels or Elvis's final embarrassing performance that they would serve high-fat bacon-and-cheese pastries along with celery wheels laden with cream cheese, and cheddar cheese potato chips, as one of McKeon's menus suggests? While it is possible to garner a decent, classic southern meal from this book (turnip greens, country fried steak, and corn fritters), these have been done elsewhere -- and better. This kind of food led to the King's downfall. Still, a perfect gag gift.