As promised, a little round up of the chocolate-y highlights from Chocolate for Choice last week. At right is a pic of my favorite piece, sculpted by Amanda Anderson of Bandeleone. Gold leaf is the sequin of the dessert world. Use sparingly and it’s still hard to pull off. She did a gorgeous job.

And without further ado, here is MY FIRST PODCAST–with little blurbs and out takes from the event. Yeah, I’ve got some learning to to. And I definitely won’t have as much studio-ish talking anymore. But I learned a lot; so they’ll only get better!

A huge thanks to my techno-bro for shaving the process down by about, oh, 20 hours with his superior knowledge of all things CAST.

THE CHOCOLATE ROUND UP:

Ten Mercer went over the top with their shaved chocolate espresso cups that held light cream mousse and candy straws. I had three. I won’t even get into the truffles they offered as a “consolation” when the choco-shots ran out.

One of the most excellent show pieces of the night, a giant chocolate tuxedo cake in the shape of our Supreme Court. That’s weird. It’s leaning to the right.

Macrina Bakery being Macrina Bakery, they showed off their mastery of supreme elegance. This cake is a fancy expression of the Chocolate Ganache Cupcakes they do every day.

Lisa Dupar of Pomegranate Bistro stopped people in their tracks with her giant checkerboard cakes.

Theo Chocolate came out of the development closet with their milk chocolate & chai 3400 Phinney bars and their vanilla cream confections. Now what’s a girl got to do to get online ordering??? Ideally I would only get off the couch to answer the door to receive my bon bons!

Two Tartes Bakery, the best kept secret in my hood, went old school with a Chocolate Voodoo cake and assorted brownies. They helped me stuff their leftovers in my purse, and I love them for that. They were going to use the rest to make bread pudding. And you’ve GOT to love them for that.

Might O Donuts: I never use the words “vegan” and “dessert” in the same sentence. Unless I’m talkin’ bout Might O’s!

La Figa Catering–I had no idea who you were. But these lavender chocolates with candied orange peel and owner Tiberio Simone have landed this business card in the speed dial that is my wallet. Hey-zeus!

Darcy Burner, anyone who wants to kick Dave Reichert’s ass (my words, not our lovely candidate’s) is good in my book. I mean, hello! It’s all RIGHT there in his name! Darcy bid up a few items for the cause, and turned the whole room on with her smile. Check out her site Washington ladies!

Visit NARAL Pro Choice Washington’s website HERE, to volunteer. Cuz It ain’t enough just to BE pro-choice anymore, ladies.