A Valensteyn Special

The Mark Steyn Weekend Show
February 10, 2018

https://www.steynonline.com/8444/a-valensteyn-special

If music be the food of love, play on, quoth the poet. It's the season of love, and we're playing on with music and food and poetry in a special pre-Valentine's Day edition of The Mark Steyn Show.

~First, the poetry: If you've enjoyed Mark's Sunday versifying, here are a couple of romantic bonuses from his favorite love poems.

~Next, the food: At Christmas Mark enjoyed a delicious bootleg bûche de Noël from his favorite patissiers - Denis and Agnès of the boulangerie Owl's Bread in Magog, Quebec. Many viewers enjoyed it, too. So we thought we'd ask Denis back to prepare a special dish sure to seduce your loved one on St Valentine's Day.

~Then, the music: You don't want to mess around come Valentine's. So Mark invited his compatriot, the acclaimed singer/pianist Carol Welsman, to perform two of the all-time greatest love songs with the Mark Steyn Show band.

~The love? Ah, but you have to supply that yourself... Click below to watch:

The Mark Steyn Show is made possible through the support of members of The Mark Steyn Club. Membership is not for everyone, but it does help assure that our content remains out there for everyone, around the world. Among the benefits of membership is that you can enjoy The Mark Steyn Show in any medium you desire: video, audio or text. So, if you find Steyn more palatable in non-visual form, please log-in to our Audio and Transcript versions. To listen to the above show, simply click here.

Membership also supports Steyn's radio serializations in Tales for Our Time. If you haven't yet heard them yet, they make for a great weekend binge-listen - and, as love stories go, the tale of lovers torn between love and duty in The Prisoner of Zenda is especially apposite.

Another advantage of membership is our comments section. If you're a member and you want to weigh in on poetry, food, music or love, then feel free to comment away below.

For more information on The Mark Steyn Club, please see here.

© 2020 Mark Steyn Enterprises (US) Inc. All rights reserved.
No part of this website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied, modified or adapted, without the prior written consent of Mark Steyn Enterprises.

If you're a member of The Mark Steyn Club and you take issue with this article, then have at it in our comments section.

receive the latest by email: subscribe to steynonline's free weekly mailing list

Comment on this item

Submission of reader comments is restricted to Mark Steyn Club members only. If you are not yet a member, please click here to join. If you are already a member, please log in here:

Member Login

26 Reader Comments

Debra Milligan • Feb 15, 2018 at 20:01

What a wonderful pot-pourri of poetry, bon appétit and rhapsody!

There is a quite a contrast between the poetess with her comparative love and the male poet who triumphs Carpe diem (the original Horace and his pluck the day). Rossetti seems the natural heiress (among the pre-Raphaelites) of Percy Bysshe Shelley romanticism, but her imagery is bold and spiritual at the same time. She edges out Elizabeth Barrett Browning as my favored English poetess, mostly because her poetry is innately musical.

I'd not heard of George Etherege, and I thank you for the introduction. Most enjoyable is his direct tone, matched by tender sentiment.

Chowder is hearty, made of the good stuff; whereas soup is at times thin makings of whatever is left over. You probably know this French expression, cracher dans la soupe, which pretty much expresses the crybabies of the Left worldwide.

I wish sometimes the Right would sling some chowder at the ingrates, but it would be a tremendous waste of quality ingredients!

Tracy Mescha • Feb 13, 2018 at 21:52

Food, my favorite topic :) 'Chowder' is a fairly loose term, Denis is correct in that it's history is most often attributed to the French word for cauldron 'chaudron' a.k.a. a mighty fine soup pot. Today a chowder will likely contain cream or milk and be thickened with a roux, seafood being a common protein. Chowders do not typically contain noodles, but hey-I won't quibble as Denis' dish looked amazing!
What's on your ultimate Valentine's Day menu?

LeRoy McKeage • Feb 12, 2018 at 19:28

Any one who knows Vera Lynn's music would have know the verse to "As Time Goes By" many years ago. And I think she (Vera) does a better job of it too. At least the way I like it, pure and simple!

Wayne Lanham • Feb 12, 2018 at 09:53

Mark, do differences in political views ever cause conflicts between you and your fellow musicians? It seems like virtually all of the mainstream entertainment industrial complex is to the left of Stalin these days, and that leaves me wondering if your more sophisticated band of merry musicians suffer from the same affliction. If so, how does it affect your working relationships? And if not, why not? From where did they acquire their immunity to Leftism?

Deborah Stoldt • Feb 12, 2018 at 00:02

Fran coriander is the seed & cilantro is the leafy herb.

Fran Lavery

Deborah Stoldt • Feb 12, 2018 at 02:15

I'm catching on, Deborah! Thanks!

Lee Phelps • Feb 11, 2018 at 22:16

Great video and yet another wonderful singer, Carol Welsman, who I'd never heard before but will now start getting her albums. Thanks for a great show!

Thomas McFadden • Feb 11, 2018 at 22:15

Good show.

Doug Lauder • Feb 11, 2018 at 16:41

Speaking fo the membership the quality of the production is splendid , a deeply personal pleasure, dare I call it guilty. Watching it at full leisure on my iPad, riveting , delicious . A man and his membership. Thank you .

Jeremy Frankel • Feb 11, 2018 at 08:52

Really missed the show! I sincerely hope that Steynposts and The Mark Steyn Show will become more regular, with new episodes too.

Deborah Stoldt • Feb 11, 2018 at 08:46

Can you post the recipe

siberianmo

Deborah Stoldt • Feb 11, 2018 at 15:36

Deborah,

Take a look at the post (below) from:

fran lavery Kathleen Novotny • Feb 11, 2018 at 02:39

Tom in Missouri

Fran Lavery

siberianmo • Feb 12, 2018 at 02:16

Thanks, Captain! I was plum out of energy typing today. ;)

Clark Jerrell • Feb 11, 2018 at 03:37

Why is it that the guitar guy never gets a solo? It's always some guy with a wind instrument.

Free Bird!!

(Loved the video, Mark. I know what my wife is getting for dinner Wednesday.)

Sol Cranfill • Feb 10, 2018 at 22:58

"So it was a French military humiliation, but you had a great soup afterwards."

Face with tears emoji

Kathleen Novotny • Feb 10, 2018 at 19:02

Is Denis willing share his recipe with club members? I would love to make this dish for Valentine's Day.

fran lavery

Kathleen Novotny • Feb 11, 2018 at 02:39

Kathleen, I can only assume Denis meant to share his Bora Bora Chowder with us so I took the liberty of jotting down some notes so I could make it as well. Good luck!

Gather ingredients: base (can of coconut milk, little H2O, fish liquid), vegetables (carrots, celeriac, leeks, well-washes red sweet pepper, snow peas), spices and herbs (shallot or red onion, ginger root, hot dried pepper, Thai curry powder, lime zest, fresh coriander) fish (six Canadien U10 scallops and six large shrimp), and garnishes (mango, parsley, ground red pepper, Thai curry powder)

Step by step prepare everything for the cooking and set aside (appears to be a third or half cup of each vegetable julienned, except the shallot and ginger (guess a tablespoon or bit more of each) and if you're not a professional French chef, so as to prevent the overcooking of a couple of the timed items: lime zest and snow peas, I would do ahead and set aside. Speaking for myself as I get edgy if there's too many steps happening at once, I might even get the scallops' brine dried off, as well, and even get that pan crusted number done on them as well, remember not to overcook, say a few seconds on each side.

So consider doing all that above and follow these steps as well:

1) julienne cut everything except shallots (chopped)
2) soak rice noodles (linguine width) in hot H2O for about 15 minutes, no more.
3) julienne lime zest (no white) and boil for exactly to the count of ten, no more.
4) cook snow peas in boiling water (one minute, no more)
5) put the scallops in the pan when the smoking starts coming off the heated olive oil (sign the temp is good for the crusting effect) flipping each after a few seconds giving the nice brown color and crust, and set aside. Do the same with the shrimp but for a shorter length of time on each side than scallops. Set aside with scallops. Add a half cup or so of water to the same pan over the flame to get the bits of fish flavor swished clean off. This deglaceed essence will go right into the base.

Start the base: one can of coconut milk, some water and fish liquid from the thawed scallops and shrimp. Cook over medium heat, add the shallots and ginger and some Thai curry powder. Whisk it pretty well. Chop off the end of the spicy dried pepper and chop that into small pieces, more or less to desired spiciness. Add the deglazed liquid from the scallop and shrimp pan into your simmering coconut milk sauce. Add the zest of lime. Add more Thai curry powder and salt and stir.

Now start adding everything you had set aside in this order: vegetables requiring longer cooking to less cooking rule: carrots and celeriac, stir in first and allow a few minutes before adding leeks and sweet pepper and fresh coriander. (Puzzled about this ingredient because in my area coriander is called cilantro so better check to see if it comes in thin stalks like chives or lemon grass slivered).

Then add the scallops and shrimp and the noodles, to the bubbling Thai curry coconut base but not more than a minute. Sprinkle the snow peas and most of the mango leaving some strips for the garnish. Flip the contents of the pan in the air ever so carefully (this part is probably for the pros) and immediately arrange into bowls ever so artistically like Denis does with such finesse. Finishing touch: it appears that Denis sprinkled some fine red pepper and more Thai curry powder around edge of bowls.

PK33

fran lavery • Feb 11, 2018 at 09:43

Excellent, thank you Fran. I love to cook and try new recipes. I'm going to make this sometime soon as my partner will be away on Valentine's Day and doesn't like to celebrate "Hallmark Holidays" anyway. No problem for me, I try to make every day a good day, I don't need someone to remind me of my blessings.

Coriander is the seed of cilantro and the flavors are very different. I don't mind cilantro but a lot of people really don't like it and so I use fresh parsley instead.

Fran Lavery

PK33 • Feb 11, 2018 at 13:00

For nothing at all, PK! I like to cook as well but it was hard to see me tackle this fusion chowder without getting all the i's dotted and t's crossed and into some kind of sequence and typeface. I knew those two flavors were connected but I didn't really catch what form the coriander was in: the green leaves or something else? I wonder what Denis would think of the lemon grass idea. It seems it would be keeping well with the Thai flavors. I just swoon over anything with shellfish, peppers and coconut. I felt like standing up and applauding Denis when he put that last piece of parsley on the chowder.

I think I feel the same way about holidays and try to make every day a good day, but I do need reminders about how blessed my life has been despite some setbacks. My mom used to tell me: if you can read, you can cook. It's probably partly true, but if you love fresh food you can probably take your cooking to new plateaus.

Kathleen Novotny

fran lavery • Feb 12, 2018 at 09:43

Thanks Fran!

P. Gao

fran lavery • Feb 13, 2018 at 02:55

Thanks!
Great show and your directions are very helpful!

Fran Lavery

P. Gao • Feb 13, 2018 at 09:35

Cool! My mom always had Julia Child or Graham Kerr on the telly when I came in from school it seemed. I know she had a limited budget but she had her penned notes all over the kitchen table after some of the shows were over and she would try to put it all together down to every ingredient and step they took, especially when she thought it a suitable dish for my dad and the rest of us. I found I was doing the same thing watching Denis put that chowder together. When I saw Kathleen wondering, I figured "I can do this."

siberianmo • Feb 10, 2018 at 17:26

What a pleasant surprise and great way to enjoy an otherwise abysmal winter weekend here in mid-continent USA. Terrific blend of food - music - more food - and more music.

One day I must visit Denis and Agnès Owl's Bread in Magog, Quebec.

As for the acclaimed singer/pianist Carol Welsman, what's not to like?

Wonderful - all.

For what it is worth, you have put forth some truly entertaining posts this year, with my fay-vor-iytes being:

(1) Twelfth Night Live! - January 5, 2018
(2) Music from Melbourne with Mark, Sky and Men At Work - January 26, 2018
(3) SteynPost #23 - Among the Empathizers - February 8, 2018
(4) A Valensteyn Special - February 10, 2018

All very much appreciated by this club member.

Tom in Missouri

Mark replies:

Thank you, Tom. If you're ever in Quebec's Eastern Townships or Northern Vermont, a detour to Denis and Agnès in Magog or Mansonville is well worth it.

Sol Cranfill

siberianmo • Feb 10, 2018 at 23:28

Agreed, Tom! I'm listening to "Music from Melbourne" now, which I've listened to many times, as I have the Christmas and Twelfth Night specials.

siberianmo

Sol Cranfill • Feb 11, 2018 at 09:34

Sol,

We share an appreciation for the "finer stuff" as only Mark can provide.

I have made a list of all the submissions of his since becoming a club member with the "special" ones marked with an asterisk along with the corresponding URL. Makes them easier to locate when I am in the frame of mind for a mental holiday.

Tom in Missouri

Elizabeth Lorenz • Feb 10, 2018 at 13:43

Happy St. Valentine's Day, Mark! Thank you for all of the wonderful insight on so many subjects over the years.
You truly are the modern day universal man.
Yours, Beth