Kogan Rick - The Elis Cheesecake Cookbook : Remarkable Recipes From A Chicago Legend

Copyright 2015 by Elis Cheesecake Company

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without express written permission from the publisher.

Food photography by Peter McCullough.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Schulman, Maureen.

The Elis Cheesecake cookbook: remarkable recipes from a Chicago legend / Maureen Schulman, Tara Lane, Jolene Worthington, Diana Moles.

pages cm

Includes index.

Summary: A cookbook celebrating the 35th anniversary of the Chicago restaurant Elis Cheesecake, including recipes, anecdotes, and photographs-- Provided by publisher.

ISBN 978-1-57284-769-9 (ebook)

1. Cheesecake. 2. Elis Cheesecake World. I. Lane, Tara. II. Worthington, Jolene. III. Moles, Diana. IV. Title.

TX773.S3335 2015

641.8653--dc23

2015031420

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Midway is an imprint of Agate Publishing. Agate books are available in bulk at discount prices. For more information, go to agatepublishing.com.

DEDICATED WITH LOVE TO ELI SCHULMAN, a larger-than-life, one-in-a-million guy with a twinkle in his eye who captured the heart of Chicago with his amazing food and effervescent personality. Eli would be so happy that his cheesecake legacy remains strong, and that no one will ever say Eli who? Everyone at The Elis Cheesecake Company, a family-owned business, continues to be inspired by Elis magic and strives for excellence every day.

This year marks Elis Cheesecakes 35th anniversary, which was the driving force behind the creation of this book. We are so happy that you have decided to cook with us!

This is your chance to peek inside the legendary kitchens of Elis The Place For Steak and the Elis Cheesecake bakery, and learn how to make the most popular recipes from these icons of the Chicago food scene. Our goal is to provide you with the scientific knowledge and detailed recipes necessary to bake a perfect cheesecake, all while learning about Eli Schulmans storied rise to top restaurateur and baker extraordinaire. Whether youre a cook, baker, or Chicago history buff or simply have fond memories of dining at one of Elis restaurants, this book is filled with historical photos, celebrity snapshots, and lots of big cakes, as well as clear and beautiful step-by-step food photography for every recipe.

CONTENTS

Eli smiles with delight in the dining room.

I LIKE TO THINK OF ELI AS HE WAS IN LIFE. Though he died in 1988, I still like to think of Eli as alive. The man was so full of life that its not a great leap to imagine him still with us today. I like to imagine the smile that would cross his face as he surveyed the accomplishments of his three granddaughters, all grown and beautiful.

Would Eli smile? Sure, he would. He smiled a lot. He smiled the last time we sat together, at Elis The Place For Steak. It was a couple of months before he died, and he was in a reflective mood. He told me, Its been the bestand the worst. Ive met so many people, made so many friends. But as you get older, you start to see them drop off, like leaves from a tree. But to have come from where I came from, to have known the people Ive knownId have to say that Im the luckiest man in the world.

Eli with Barbara and Frank Sinatra at Elis. During that visit, Frank invited all of us to his show. Eli decided not to go because he wanted to make sure everything was perfect at the restaurant for the arrival of Frank and his entourage. Frank spied Elis empty seat in the audience and sent his wife out to find out where Eli was. Marc and Maureen told her that he was in the bathroom and quickly called him from a pay phone (this was in the days before cell phones) to tell him to race overand he did.

Opening of the Eli M. Schulman Playground with Mayor Richard M. Daley, Marc Schulman, and Illinois Governor James R Thompson

Elis plaque in the Seneca Park Eli Schulman Playground.

Leaves from a tree, he said again, and immediately I realized that the trees closest to where Eli spent most of his timein his restaurantwere just across Chicago Avenue, a few steps away, dotting Seneca Park and its small playground. That small patch of green for decades provided a peaceful place, an especially quiet slice of the city, sitting amid the bustle of shoppers and strollers in the shadows of high-rises. There, Eli would often sit and watch little children at play. Sometimes he would talk to them, and his kindly face would come alive. His eyes would sparkle. The little kids at the park, if they thought about him at all, probably considered him to be just some nice old guy. He was all that, and more. Former Bears coach Mike Ditka once said of him, To know this man was to love him. Eli could talk with anyone. He listened. He cared. And he was an enthralling storyteller. Even in the center of his star-studded milieu, he exemplified simple values: friendship and honesty, Chicago style. Few knew that the watch he wore was a gift from Frank Sinatra.

Eli was a poor kid from the Greater Lawndale area on the citys West Side. There was not much time for playing in parks for him; his dad died when he was young, and from then on, Eli had to work hard. He sold 10-cent windup toys on street corners and seat cushions at the Citys baseball yards, hawked newspapers, and delivered packages. He made it, and he made it big. His restaurants were patronized by famous and influential people. Some of them were good people, and most were his friends, too.

I regret not spending more time with Eli in the park by his restaurant, and never having the chance to go to the track with himthe ponies were his special passion. But I was at the restaurant often enough to observe him in his element. There, he was something to behold, moving from table to table, chatting, joking, making new friends. It was, of course, a gathering place for luminaries from the worlds of sports, show business, and politicsespecially politics. They were drawn as much by the food as by the owners magnetic personality.

In the pages that follow, Elis daughter-in-law Maureen, wife of his only son, Marc, will share a much more detailed biography of this great man. What youll read there would make Eli smile, too. Hed be so happy to know how well Marc and Maureen have lived their lives, and how they and others have turned his modest little idea for a new dessert into an international sensation. Today, Elis cheesecake is a favorite after-dinner treat for current and former presidents, and perhaps future ones as well, since Hillary Clinton enjoyed some at her 50th birthday party. I like Elis cheesecake, too, and am continually surprised by its variations. I can get it almost anywhere, any time these days.