The Feathered Nest

The softer side of MaisonBisson

Restaurant Review: Cotton September 30, 2007

TowerGirl @ 12:11 pm
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Cotton sign.

First Impressions

How much is too much for an entree at a place that plays the kind of anonymous Muzak that Kenny G calls jazz and is decorated like Applebee’s? Trust me, I like renovated mill buildings, but why confuse it with faux grecian columns and too many pictures of dead celebrities? I mean, the interior was clean and pleasant, but lacked attention to detail. If you’re so afraid your customers are going to walk off with the poorly framed prints of old Hollywood darlings that you nail them to the wall through the frame, how much can you expect them to pay for dinner?

Drinks and Appetizers

Still, Cotton’s martinis have been voted the best in New Hampshire. I tried the sampler, a trio of fruity cocktails served in adorable 2.5 oz martini glasses. The flight included a lemon drop martini, a raspberry cosmopolitan, and an orange crush (the crush had me humming REM all evening, but I’m a dork like that). Casey ordered the Vesper (he’s a dork for Bond-themed drinks), a cocktail of gin, vodka and Lillet as they prepare it.

Whatever points the place lost in atmosphere they seemed to regain with the Martinis. The drinks were fresh and light with lovely flavors. My favorite was the lemon drop. So many restaurants serve a syrupy martini which I hate, these were clearly a step above.

To accompany the cocktails, we had the Lobster Artichoke Dip. The flavor of the dip was good, but the homemade corn chips they were paired with were far too salty and overpowered the more subtle flavors of the dip.

Entrees

On special was a pork tenderloin in a mushroom sauce with mashed potatoes and sauteed greens. It was plenty tender, but the sauce that covered everything was bland and cried out for some fresh herbs. Casey’s “Meat and Potatoes” suffered from a similar saucing issue. I am not sure why the chef felt it necessary to drown our food with blandness.

Conclusion

We should have moved on after our cocktails and appetizers. The music killed Casey, but I will happily return to Cotton for a pre-dinner martini at the bar, then I will continue my search for a Manchester restaurant I love.

Details

Cotton
75 Arms Street Manchester, NH 03101 — phone: 603 622 5488
Dinners priced $13-30
Lunch:Monday-Friday, 11:30AM-2:30PM
Dinner:Nightly at 5:00PM

 

Playing With Food September 9, 2007

TowerGirl @ 11:25 am
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Playing with food on Flickr.

Like all well bred women, my mother always told me not to play with my food. However, as we get older we realize that sometimes ignoring the rules is just as important as, generally, following them. Food is fun. It has wonderful tastes, smells, colors, and textures. Something with so many wonderful attributes is just begging to be played with.

For me, breakfast is not just the most important meal of the day, its also the most wonderfully yummy for one specific reason — maple syrup. I live in New Hampshire and we take our maple syrup very seriously. While those of you in the rest of the world (except our dear neighbors in Vermont) like the nearly clear, grade A maple syrup (or, god forbid, Mrs. Butterworth) we know that the best syrup is the rich, dark, delicious, grade B syrup. Since every weekend breakfast at MaisonBisson must contain food that is syrup friendly, we eat more than our share of pancakes, french toast, and waffles. Last weekend I decided to have a little fun with breakfast. Mr Smiley here is the result. My husband liked him a lot, and I think others who are young at heart, or just plain young, would enjoy him too. Its easy and it reminds you not to take things too seriously.

 

Salmon Pie Supper January 13, 2007

TowerGirl @ 10:09 pm
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digging in
Last winter I was inspired. I love all seafood, but my beloved only eats fish and I was running out of ways to prepare salmon (his favorite). We have always loved a good pot pie so I decided to put together a salmon pie. There are lots of fish pie recipes on the web, after perusing a number of them I decided to strike out on my own and cobble together something that used the ingredients I had on hand. It came out great. Since then, I’ve been tweaking and refining. This is my favorite version - but feel free to add your own touches. This dish is also great for leftovers, it reheats beautifully.

  • 1 1/2 lb fillet of salmon
  • 3 medium potatoes peeled and quartered
  • 2 stalks of celery finely chopped
  • 1 small red onion finely chopped
  • 3 leeks (white parts only) halved down the center and finely sliced
  • 1 clove of garlic minced
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1 cup white wine or sherry
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
  • 1/4 cup of milk
  • packaged pie crust

Preheat oven to 350°

Grease a large casserole dish and place salmon, skin side down, into the dish. Season with salt and pepper. Place in the oven and cook for approximately 20 minutes. Salmon should be able to flake apart with fork but still be very moist. Set cooked salmon aside.

While salmon is in the oven, put a large pot of water on to boil and add tablespoon of salt to the water to season. Peel and quarter potatoes. When water starts to boil, add potatoes. Cook about 20 minutes, until tender. Drain the potatoes in a colander and then place in a large bowl. Add 2 tablespoon of butter and a 1/4 cup on milk to the potatoes and mash the potatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a large sautee pan over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and swirl to cover the pan. Add the onion, leeks, garlic, celery and cook until tender (about 10 minutes). Add the wine to the pan. Let cook for 1 minute and stir to incorporate. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper and herbs.

In a pie plate, arrange the bottom crust. If you are ambitious, I’m sure a homemade crust would be wonderful. I use a ready-made crust and it’s still good.

Add the wine and veggie mixture to the mashed potatoes. Flake the salmon and add this to the mashed potato bowl as well. Stir to combine ingredients. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.

Raise oven temp to 375°

Scrape the potato/veggie/salmon mixture into the waiting pie crust. Spread it evenly. Place the top crust on top. seal and crimp the edges and cut holes in the top to vent. Place in the center of the oven and cook 20 minutes, until crust is lightly golden. Serve with a green salad and enjoy.