The great Elvis debate, lobster orgies and mystery fish Dear Surreal Gourmet, Please help settle an argument at work. One person says Elvis had BACON on his peanut butter and banana sandwich, the other says no. Your article, "A Hunka Hunka Banana Love," did not mention bacon, but does say "I've modified the recipe slightly to spare you Elvis' fate." Thank you for your time. And if it's not bacon, my curiosity is peaked. -- Hound Dog Dear Hound Dog, I've been to Graceland and bought the T-shirt, but I'm no Elvis authority. The recipe I referred to was adapted from a book whose author claimed to have interviewed Elvis' personal cook. (My changes simply reduced the amount of butter used.) However, there is a two-page story in the book that chronicles a spontaneous midnight flight to Denver, where Elvis and an entourage were met at the runway and presented with a local specialty called "Fool's Gold loaf." They proceeded to gorge themselves on the sandwiches -- each of which contained one pound of bacon, peanut butter and jelly, but no bananas. (I guess Elvis was saving room for dessert.) Hope you win the bet. Dear Surreal Gourmet, I had a dinner party for five of my girlfriends last year and ever since then we have traded off each month with a different person throwing a dinner party at their place. It has been a year now and we will be back at my place for the "one year anniversary" of our get-togethers. Everybody usually serves great meals with lots of alcohol! I wanted to make this party of mine really special. I have gone through both of your books (which I love), and I'm needing some extra suggestions. Can you please help me with a special "theme" for my dinner? I will try anything in the adventure club you throw at me! Thank you in advance. I will be waiting anxiously for your help. -- Hostess without the mostest Dear Hostess, I suggest a BYOL (bring your own lobster) party. Each guest should bring a live lobster and a bottle of champagne. You supply the salad, bread, drawn butter and additional dips (but no silverware) and a yellow fisherman's slicker for each guest to wear. While the lobsters scream and boil, tape down the dining room table with newspaper. When the lobsters are cooked, dump them in the middle of the table, encourage everyone to dig in with both hands and let the claws fly. Prizes can be awarded for best of show, best lobster story and most likely to be mistaken for a real fisherman/woman. Dear Surreal Gourmet, I was invited to one of those "Host a Murder Mystery" parties. The hostess decided to make it a potluck. I'd like to bring a dish that's truly mysterious, something that will leave everyone wondering what it is. Any ideas? -- Mystified Dear Mystified, After all of those "mystery meals" you probably complained about at camp and in school, isn't it ironic that now you are striving to achieve the same effect? Those nice ladies in the cafeteria would be so proud. Here are a few ideas: Make a mystery pâté, then mold it into the shape of a question mark. Make several varieties of homemade sausages (chicken, turkey, beef, pork ...) and let guests "detect" which is which. Or just bring hot dogs -- the original mystery food. If none of the guests are Jewish, serve gefilte fish.* Go to an Asian market, where you will find plenty of unrecognizable foods. *Gefilte fish is a popular Jewish dish (though I find it totally unappetizing) consisting of ground whitefish mixed with eggs, matzo meal and seasonings. The mixture is formed into balls, then simmered in fish stock. After chilling, the gefilte fish is served in its own jellied stock with grated horseradish. If you have trouble picturing this, don't worry: That's why it's the perfect mystery food. April 16, 1997 Seeking culinary guidance? E-mail your queries to TasteTalk. Please sign your full name, and let us know if you want your e-mail address to appear. Previous TasteTalk: 04/09/97 | 04/02/97 | 03/26/97 | 03/19/97 | 03/12/97 TasteTalk Archive