Elvis Visits the Tiki Hut

In honor of what would have been Elvis Presley's 75th birthday, today I'm going to share with you one of my favorite sandwiches — Peanut Butter and Banana.

I, like I'm sure many of you are, am a huge Elvis Presley fan. Loved him, his music and his movies. Of course, his beach movies were my favorites — Blue Hawaii and Girl Crazy are at the top of my list. Elvis isn't actually at the Tiki Hut today, but his spirit lives on.

Its hard to find a photo of Elvis that is not copyrighted, but this one taken with then President Richard M. Nixon was taken by a White House photographer, thus it is in the public domain. Elvis met with Nixon that day because he was concerned about the country and wanted to become a "Federal Agent at Large" in the war on drugs. A bit ironic given the circumstances of his death, but the story is fascinating. You can view all the photos taken that day and the documents, including Elvis' letter to the president at this link to the National Archives.

photo by Ollie Atkins, on December 21, 1970

If you look around the internet you will see many versions of this sandwich. My understanding is that Elvis ate this sandwich fried; I've had it that way many times. I grill mine in a non-stick pan sprayed with canola oil. If Elvis ate it like this, I would imagine it would have been fried in bacon grease. When I was a kid, just about everything was fried in bacon grease — it was the Southern way. Typically though, I simply spread peanut butter on a slice of good white or oatmeal bread and top it with sliced bananas and another slice of bread. What could be easier? I love this sandwich and have been eating it for more years than I can remember. Peanut butter and bananas are good for you, although the peanut butter should be eaten in moderation — I need to learn moderation.

Since I know many of us are big Paula Deen fans, I'm providing you with her version as well. Looks good, but too time-consuming for me when I'm working. I take the easy way out and I'm good with that.

Update: I almost forgot, I have a foodie question for you today! Creamy, Chunky, or Super Chunky, which is your favorite style of peanut butter?

Paula's Fried Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 to 3 ripe bananas
• 8 slices white bread

Topping:

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

In a frying pan, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter. Make sure butter does not burn. In a small bowl mix together the peanut butter, honey, and cinnamon. Slice the bananas into 1/4-inch thick slices. Spread the peanut butter mixture on 4 slices of bread and cover with banana slices. Top with the remaining 4 slices of bread. Spread the remaining butter on both sides of the sandwiches. Grill the sandwiches in the frying pan until each side is golden brown.
For topping, combine the sugar and cinnamon in shallow plate. Coat the grilled sandwiches with the mixture. Cut diagonally and serve hot.

A big glass of milk goes perfect with this sandwich!

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.

If your interested, this book is available at Shellbelle's Tiki Hut Store powered by Amazon.

Be sure to click on this banner to visit Michael and find links to other Foodie Friday participants who are sharing recipes today.

Happy Birthday Elvis