Mini Meatloaves

I love food history because it’s full of surprises. Elvis Presley was born on January 8, 1935. One of the recipes from the Presley Family Cookbook was “Sunday Meatloaf.” 

Author Elaine Dundy researched Elvis’s family tree and found out that his maternal great – great grandmother, Nancy Burdine, was Jewish. According to Jewish law, which uses maternal lineage as a way to define Jewish identity, Elvis would have been considered Jewish.

Per Dundy, “Nancy (Elvis’ great - great grandmother) is of particular interest to us. According to Elvis’ third cousin Oscar Tackett, Nancy was Jewish… names often tell a story, and two of Martha’s brothers were given Jewish names, Sidney and Jerome.” Martha was Elvis’ great grandmother.

Elvis was not observant Jew, Elvis was aware of his ancestry. As a child, he was told to hide his Jewish roots because of existing prejudice against Jews. Even though they hid their family history, Elvis’ mother Gladys was apparently proud of their Jewish heritage. When she passed away, Elvis had a Jewish Star of David engraved on his mother’s tombstone. He also took it upon himself to learn the Hebrew aleph… bet, and once donated $150,000 to the Memphis Hebrew Academy.

Elvis later years, he wore Jewish symbols around his neck… sometimes the Star of David, other times the Hebrew symbol “chai” (meaning “life”). He often wore a cross, too… a symbol of the Christianity that he practiced throughout his life. When asked why he wore charms from both religions, Elvis said: “I don’t want to miss out on going to Heaven on a technicality.”

We all know that Elvis loved fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches, but that’s not much of a recipe, totally delicious.  The Presley Family Cookbook it includes some of Elvis’ favorite Southern family recipes. A dish called “Sunday Meatloaf”

Want The Presley Family Cookbook, click here.

Research Source: The History Kitchen

 

The classic dish can be ready in less than 30 minutes. One of these minis has your name on it.

Mini Meatloaves

Copyrighted 2013, Christine’s Pantry. All rights reserved.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter

1 onion, chopped

salt and pepper, to taste

1 pound ground pork sausage

1 egg

1 tablespoon bacon mustard

1/2 cup bread crumbs

2 tablespoons chicken broth

1 teaspoon rosemary, chopped

2 teaspoons garlic, minced

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup ketchup

1/4 cheddar cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a skill, melt butter over medium heat. Add onions, salt and pepper, cook until tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.

In a bowl, add ground pork sausage, egg, bacon mustard, bread crumbs, chicken broth, rosemary, garlic, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce and the onions, mix well.

Spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray. Press meat into muffin tin. Use back of your spoon to make indentation in center of each. Place muffin tin on sheet pan.

Bake 18 to 20 minutes, until meatloaves are done. Top with ketchup and cheese; bake 3 minutes until cheese is melted. Enjoy!