cotton: the cookbook

8/6/2019 Cotton: The Cookbook

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Jeffrey Paige:: PhotograPhsby brian smestad:: forewordby John Clayton

thecookbook


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Foreword

Ill never orget my frst meal in Manchester, New Hampshires Millyard. In the early 1960s, my ather was aplumber at the Waumbec Mill, a textile operation that rose rom the ashes o what was once the worlds largesttextile concern, Manchesters amed Amoskeag Manuacturing Corporation.

As a kid, I was ascinated by the red brick buildings that lined the Merrimack River, and on Saturdaysordinarily

a day or my dad to pick up some overtimeI would tag along with him. Thats how I frst came to eat atthe Millyard.

The mills were steam-powered in those days, so when the lunch hour came, my dad would head down to the boiler

room. While other employees had to resort to the old-ashioned thermos bottle i they wanted hot soup, my ather

simply opened a can, poured the contents into a pan he kept in his locker, and then set the pan on a white-hot

steam pipe. Minutes later, we were eating a hot lunch, and I thought that bowl o Habitant pea soupcanned just

two mill buildings to the northwas as close as Id ever get to heaven.

O course, my ather wasnt the frst epicurean adventurer on Manchesters labor scene. Back when W.H. McElwain

was the largest shoe manuacturer in the world, a Simmons College graduate named Helen Siebold was serving

more than 2,000 meals a day at the McElwain plant.

They christened her the Shoe-Shop Che. In reporting on her exploits, the Boston Herald Traveler noted that,

By careul planning, Miss Siebold is able to oer her actory people a three-course meal or the ridiculous sum

o twenty-fve cents. There is always a soup, a meat and a vegetable dish, or a nourishing meat substitute, and a

choice o desserts, which include pudding and our kinds o ice cream. Now, shoe workers who scoed at the idea

o a college girl knowing how to make a good bee stew and pie, the paper added, have ound this matter-o-actperson to be the best che they ever knew. Ah, but those shoe workers didnt know Jerey Paige.

Dining in Manchesters Millyard has come a long way since the days o Helen Sieboldlet alone my atherand

Je is one o the reasons. In the early all o 2000, Je opened Cotton, a dining establishment o both style and

substance, in a building that speaks volumes about Manchesters industrial heritage.

The restaurant is housed in a ormer blacksmith shop that was one o the many outbuildings o the Amoskeag

Corporations world-renowned machine shop. Every bit o industrial hardware that was required or the creation

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Foreword


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Baked Onion Apple Cider Soupwith Smoked Cheddar Cheese Gratin serves 6 to 8

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the

onions and cook until well caramelized, about 20 to 30 minutes,

taking care not to burn them. Add the stock, cider, and thyme, bring

the soup to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer the soup or 1

hours. Skim the top o the soup periodically. Season the soup with the

brown sugar, i needed, and salt and pepper. The soup may be made up

to this point a day ahead and kept covered in the rerigerator.

To make the croutons, lightly butter the slices o French bread and

broil until toasted on both sides. To serve, preheat the oven to 400F.

Place 6 to 8 ovenproo soup cups or crocks in a large roasting pan and

fll them with the hot soup. Pour hot water into the roasting pan to

come halway up the sides o the cups or crocks. Top each cup or crock

o soup with a crouton, a slice o Gruyere cheese, and to cup o

grated cheddar. Bake the soup until the cheese is golden-brown and

the soup is hot and bubbly. Serve immediately.

1 stick unsalted butter

5 medium onions, peeled and thinly sliced

4 cups bee stock

4 cups resh apple cider

2 teaspoons minced resh thyme

cup light brown sugar (omit if cider is sweet enough)

Kosher salt and resh-ground black pepper, to taste

Butter as needed or spreading

6 to 8 slices o French bread, -inch thick

6 to 8 slices o Gruyre or Swiss cheese

2 cups grated smoked Vermont cheddar

or traditional cheddar cheese

27Soups


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In the pre-opening planning o Cotton, we decided early on to apply just as much ocus and attention to detail

to our cocktail menu as we did to our ood. Our goal was to oer classic cocktails, properly prepared, served in

the proper glass, with the proper garnish. With the advent o ultra-premium and inused vodkas, Peaches, my wie

and partner, decided to stray a little rom the original martini recipegin and dry vermouthand experiment

with vodka-based new martinis. The rest, as they say, is history. She and Cotton have held the distinct honor o

Best Martinis in New Hampshire romNew Hampshire Magazine or the past fve years. Here are the six simplesteps to a perect martini, along with recipes or fve o Cottons signature new martinis.

stePstoaPerFeCtmartini

1st Chill your martini glass by flling it with ice cubes and water and letting it sit while you make the martini

2nd Fill a cocktail shaker with ice, then add all liquid ingredients and shake vigorously

3rd Empty the ice and water rom the martini glass

4th Rim the glass with the appropriate rimmersugar, salt, etc.

5th Strain the contents o the cocktail shaker into the chilled martini glass

6th Garnish and serve

Chapter Five

Martinis


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65Martinis

Toasted Coconut2 ounces Brinleys Vanilla Rum

1 ounce Frangelico

1 ounce Fabbri Italian Coconut Syrup1 teaspoon toasted coconut (garnish)

I you cant fnd the Brinleys Vanilla Rum, you

can make your own. Cut a vanilla bean in hal

lengthwise, scrape out the seeds, and add them

along with the pod to a bottle o dark rum.

Allow the rum to age a minimum o 24 hours

beore serving.

Coconut syrup can be purchased online at

www.abbri1905.com or www.monin.com or you

may substitute with Coco Lopez.


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BlueTreeanartisticpublishingcompany

www.thebluetree.com

9 7 8 0 9 8 0 2 2 4 5 2 8

ISBN-13 978-0-9802245-2-8

ISBN-10 0-9802245-2-7

5 1 4 9 5

I have been a fan of Jeffrey Paige since his days at Shaker Village

in Canterbury. He is a dedicated chef who takes enormous pride

in his work. Cotton restaurant (and this cookbook) is the mature

expression of this great New England cook and I recommend it to

anyone traveling through New Hampshire.

Jasperwhite, author of

The Summer Shack Cookbook

Jeffrey Paige is one of the most inventive chefs I have ever met in

forty years of cooking. He is completely perspicacious in his talent

for mixing the kitchens of the world to produce his remarkableCotton. Since food is the most basic of all the necessities of life,

this accomplished explorer of taste makes that necessity gloriously

accessible, as youll see in his book.

Jameshaller, author of

Vie de France and The Blue Strawbery Cookbook

cotton: the cookbook

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