Mediterranean Summer (38 page)

2 cups heavy cream

½ cup sugar

¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2
¹
/
₈
teaspoons granulated gelatin

½ cup whole milk

One 250-gram container (about 9 ounces) Italian mascarpone

Heat the cream with the sugar, salt, and vanilla in a nonreactive pot over medium heat (stainless steel is best). Stir to melt the sugar and salt. Meanwhile, dissolve the gelatin in the milk. When the cream starts to steam, add the milk mixture. Remove from the heat and cool to lukewarm. If the cream is too hot, it will melt the mascarpone, causing it to release some of its fat, which will rise to the top. Stir from time to time to make sure the gelatin is dissolved and not forming any clumps in the cream.

Place the mascarpone in a bowl large enough to hold all the liquid. Add 1 cup of the cream mixture and stir until smooth. Add the remaining cream, stir to combine, and strain with a fine-mesh sieve into another bowl.

Ladle ½ cup of the cream into each mold, then evenly divide any that remains among all of them. Place the molds on a small tray, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 12 hours. These can be made up to 2 days in advance.

To remove the
panna cotta
from the molds, run the blade of a small, thin knife under hot water, then insert into the mold between the edge and the cream. Follow the circumference to free it from the mold on the sides. Invert the mold in your hands and gently shake it to feel it release, then unmold on dessert plates.

Serve with fresh, baked, or poached seasonal fruit, purees, syrups, caramel, or slightly warmed chocolate sauce and ground toasted nuts.

Wine Recommendation:
Tuscan Vin Santo from Fattoria di Felsina or La Sala

Bibliography

Artusi, Pellegrino.
L’arte di mangiar bene.
111th ed. Florence: Giunti Marzocco, 1991.

Davidson, Alan.
Mediterranean Seafood.
Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1981.

Gosetti della Salda, Anna.
Le ricette regionali Italiane.
12th ed. Milan: Casa Editrice Solares, 1995.

Heikell, Rod.
Italian Waters Pilot.
5th ed. St. Ives, UK: Imray, 1998.

———.
Mediterranean France and Corsica Pilot.
3rd ed. St. Ives, UK: Imray, 2002.

Reboul, J.-B.
La cuisinière provençale.
25th ed. Marseille: Tacussel, 1997.

Acknowledgments

David

Whole or in part, this book is the result of an extraordinary collaboration by several very talented people. It would not have occurred without the wisdom and support of photographer and bon vivant Steven Rothfeld. Our spirited editor Charlie Conrad saw promise from the beginning and was steadfast with his valuable mantra “show, don’t tell” throughout the writing. My great friend and college roommate Erol Munuz was the perfect person to help me fulfill this effort, balancing voice with clever objectivity in the storytelling. Our agent Susan Rabiner expertly coached us in the essence of memoir writing, and Al Fortunato’s literary talent helped us capture the impact and message of those stories.

Jenna Thompson and everyone at Broadway Books define efficiency, are wonderful to work with, and exude the values of caring and listening. The photographers Paul Moore and Nigel Pert have keen eyes behind their cameras. Ben Pease, our cartographer, has created spectacular maps. Many thanks to Margot Hirsch for letting me develop and test entertaining-size recipes in her kitchen, and Amy Vogler for guiding me in their writing. Kudos to Sergio Esposito of Italian Wine Merchants, whose passion and palate helped pair delicious wines with the recipes that together stimulate a sense of place through taste.

Faith Heller Willinger, a
bravissima
food and wine writer, took me under her wing and offered a chance to discover what was to become an enormous inspiration. Annie Benard, an enthusiastic yacht charter agent, untied my lines and introduced me to living at sea. Captain Peter Wood, with immense knowledge of the world offshore, helped to keep the maritime writing in the book on course.

My parents reared their sons with a no-limits attitude toward life, while my brother Adam advocated a “don’t stop” position when I was abroad. The results have brought forth a new literary tradition in the family. To my extended family, Julie and Gary Wagner, thank you for urging me to write
this
story.

Erol

First and foremost, heartfelt thanks go to my dear friend David Shalleck for allowing me to vicariously tag along on his great adventure. It has been quite a journey.

Charlie Conrad, our editor at Broadway Books, consistently offered a steady hand and precise direction, always with sharp insight and good humor. Jenna Thompson provided terrific perspective and ensured the project (and its authors) stayed on track. Many thanks to the entire Broadway team who helped guide us to the finish.

Additionally, I would like to acknowledge John Butman, whose friendship and experience let me know what to expect next; Frank Sommerfield for his kind efforts; my friends at The Boston Consulting Group for their unwavering encouragement; Jimmy Gilroy, Rosalie Joseph, and Alan Duncan Ross for their much appreciated support.

Al Fortunato played an instrumental role influencing the tone of this book and his sense of styling and taste always inspires me. Finally, Susan Rabiner, my agent, who has stood by me for close to a decade dispensing priceless wisdom, along with healthy doses of tough love. Finally, I offer a special note of gratitude to my mother; my wife, Janet; and my children, Anna and Evan, for their limitless support, patience, and smiles.

About the Authors

David Shalleck
has worked for over two decades in the food business as a chef and television culinary producer alongside some of America’s most celebrated chefs. He has cooked in noted restaurants and for special events in New York, San Francisco, the Napa Valley, London, Provence, and throughout many of Italy’s famous regions. Recent television credits include the PBS series
Chef’s Story at the French Culinary Institute, Joanne Weir’s Cooking Class, Fast Food My Way
with Jacques Pépin, and with Cat Cora on the Food Network’s
Iron Chef America
. His recipe, menu, food styling, and food product development clients include respected cookbook authors, restaurant operators, and many national brands. He is the founder of VOLOCHEF™ Culinary Solutions, offering specialized services to the food service and media industries. A graduate of Syracuse University in set and lighting design, he currently lives in San Francisco.

Erol Munuz
is an executive-level adviser and communications strategist who has worked across both public and private sectors. He is a graduate of Syracuse University and Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. Currently, he lives in Sudbury, Massachusetts, with his wife and two children.

PUBLISHED BY BROADWAY BOOKS

Copyright © 2007 by David Shalleck and Erol Munuz

Foreword copyright © 2007 by Mario Batali

All Rights Reserved

A hardcover edition of this book was originally published in 2007 by Broadway Books.

Published in the United States by Broadway Books, an imprint of The Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

www.broadwaybooks.com

BROADWAY BOOKS
and its logo, a letter B bisected on the diagonal, are trademarks of Random House, Inc.

Maps by Ben Pease, Pease Press,
www.peasepress.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Shalleck, David.

Mediterranean summer: a season on France’s Côte d’Azur and Italy’s Costa Bella / David Shalleck with Erol Munuz.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

1. Shalleck, David. 2. Cookery, Marine. 3. Cooks—Biography. 4. Sailing—Mediterranean Sea. 5. Mediterranean Sea—Description and travel. I. Munuz, Erol. II. Title.

TX840.M7S53 2007

eISBN: 978-0-7679-3023-9

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