do you know what tomorrow is?

of course you do!

it's Elvis' birthday!!

and if you know me, you know i'm all about celebrating it. believe me, if i lived closer to memphis, i would so be at graceland tomorrow.

so, this post is devoted to all things Elvis. january 8th would have been his 73rd birthday.

some fun things i've come up with that you can do to celebrate his birthday:

• take a virtual tour of graceland via the live gracecam (or heck, if you don't have anything else to do, get in the car and drive up there...but beware, it is in the ghetto...pun intended.)
  

• walk around all day with the top corner of your lip curled up (if you are talented enough to do it, that is.)
  

• play elvis trivia here (have your volume turned on...it's fun)
  

• write "ELVIS LIVES" in a bathroom stall at Wal-Mart. (just kidding, let's all try to keep Wal-Mart's bathrooms spotless, as we all know they are....ha.)
  

• listen to sirius radio channel 13 all day or listen to it at your desk.
  

• call everyone you see "lil' darlin" and whenever someone does something for you say "thank you, thank you very much" in "elvis" style all day tomorrow. you'd be surprised at the reactions you'll get (or maybe you won't.)
  

• stay home in your elvis pj's and watch Turner Classic Movies all day, or watch E! True Hollywood story, which will be about Elvis, or download his '68 Comeback Special on your iPod. nothing's sexier than "black leather Elvis."
  
  

• eat a fried peanut butter and banana sandwich (or 3 or 4, as he would have!....)
  
  

• or if that's not your fave, make one of his other favorite recipes below. zack and ashton gave me a great cookbook for Christmas this year called "Are You Hungry Tonight?: Elvis Presley's Favorite Recipes." So all of these recipes come to you courtesy of that cookbook.
  

Red Eye Gravy

for you yankees who've never had red eye gravy before, you must try it! i know that most of you who live north of the mason/dixon line won't eat grits at all, much less with red eye gravy poured into them, but you can pour it on some hot biscuits. it was one of Elvis' faves (and one of mine, too). but beware, lots of red eye gravy will make your white rhinestone jumpsuit real tight.


Cook up 1 lb. bacon.

Take the drippings and heat in a large skillet (preferably a cast iron one.) Add 1/3 cup strong black coffee. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly.

Pour over hot grits or biscuits.

MMMMM!


Fried Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich

1 small ripe banana
2 slices white bread
3 T. peanut butter
2 T. butter

In a small bowl, mash the banana with a spoon. Slightly toast bread in a toaster oven (LIGHTLY). Spread peanut butter on one piece of toast and add mashed banana on the other side.

Fry the sandwich in the butter until each side is golden brown.

Elvis liked his sliced diagonally. :-)



Blueberry Pie

I'm not going to be very Martha Stewart on this one and tell you how to make your own pastry crust. just buy a 9" one and use this recipe for the filling. :) (besides, you're going to be too busy watching Viva Las Vegas and Jailhouse Rock all day to be stuck in the kitchen making homemade pie crusts, right?)

1 c. sugar
2 T. flour
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
5 c. fresh or frozen blueberries
1 T. powdered sugar
vanilla ice cream or whipped cream to top (optional)

Combine sugar with the flour and cinnamon. In a large saucepan, toss sugar mixture with 3 cups of the berries. Cook over medium heat until it thickens. Cool.

Spoon into the crust. Spread remaining 2 cups of blueberries over the top.

Serve dusted with powdered sugar and topped with ice cream or whipped cream.


ENJOY and, Happy Birthday to ELVIS!