In its second edition, The Eli’s Cheesecake Cookbook (Agate Publishing), includes more than desserts. Filled with the history and storied tales behind one of Chicago’s most beloved restaurateurs, Eli Schulman, owner of Eli’s A Place for Steak, The Ogden Huddle, and Eli’s Delicatessen, this cookbook takes you beyond his exuberant personality and his legendary Chicago style cheesecake. The new edition lets home cooks, bakers, and lovers of Chicago in on the secrets behind what became a signature dessert and the dishes that kept anyone who was anyone coming back to Eli’s many restaurants. Even Oprah made Eli’s cheesecake a favorite thing.
His namesake restaurants may have closed, but Eli’s Cheesecakes is still going strong through their bakery and online orders that ship nationwide. The cookbook very much gives you a step by step understanding of each crust and filling. Each cheesecake recipe plated the perfectly uncracked, velvety Eli’s approved richness worthy of a dinner party. I made the classic chocolate chip version, which wasn’t overly sweet, yet never once begged for anything else to accompany it. The recipes give you options of mix and match fillings to crusts, as well as more complicated versions to wow a crowd like the Stroopwafel cheesecake or red velvet.
Oprah may have touted them as the best cheesecake, but my favorite recipe from the cookbook was on the savory side. The Chicken Vesuvio was one of the best, simple, yet elegant dishes I have made in a long time. With 13 cloves of garlic roasted and in an herby lemon and wine reduced sauce, the chicken remains crisp, the potatoes absorb all the goodness like a sponge, and you are perfectly content categorizing thyme, parsley, and oregano as your green for the day. It is all at once comforting and elevated and instantly added to the recipe rotation.
The dishes of all courses are fantastic. The recipes are easy to follow with ingredients that are just as easy to source, but what makes Eli’s Cheesecake Cookbook different and special is that it goes beyond the recipes themselves. It shares the stories and photos behind each dish, starting with Eli himself, his family, his granddaughters and the people who became family who devoted their time and energy into keeping Eli’s legacy alive. It’s not just Eli’s recipes in the book, it’s team members' family recipes. Each one shared in an effort to continue to connect us all through the love of food and a shared meal. This cookbook is for history buffs, cooks, and those who yearn for a dinner vibe that reminisces cigar smoke wafting through the air, clinking glasses, and loud, exuberant conversation.
The Eli’s Cheesecake Cookbook: Remarkable Recipes from a Chicago Legend is available at bookstores and online. For more information about Eli’s Cheesecake, visit elischeesecake.com.