This morning I baked

and then baked some more. And then I chopped a little. UBS (my place of employ) is hosting the lovely and talented Clotilde Dusoulier, of Chocolate & Zucchini fame. In her honor, I prepared several delectable treats from her new cookbook: pear, roquefort, walnut madelines; chocolate zucchini cake and two olive tapenade, which we'll serve with a baguette from Tall Grass Bakery in Ballard.

The madelines are absolutely delicious! (yes, I sampled already--we call it quality control) The pears give them a slight sweetness that meets the tanginess of the roquefort beautifully. The walnuts add a perfect little bite. They were plump and crispy around the edges but moist and slightly chewy inside. I may not share them at the book signing tonight after all.

The cake is mixed mostly in a food processor which I had never, in all of my years of catering and pastry work, tried. In fact, after a couple dire experiences (glutinous mashed potato "soup" and a nightmare cream cheese frosting disaster) I had relegated my processor to dicing and grinding. It will be interesting to see what the texture of the cake is. (I haven't tried this one yet-- it's harder to steal a slice of cake with no one noticing...) The batter looked silky and gorgeous--a chocolately velvet that was cobbled by the additions of grated zucchini and chocolate chips.

The tapenades are very simple: olives, anchovies, capers, garlic and a little olive oil and tomato paste. Clotilde recommends hand-chopping the ingredients for maximum flavor, and the result is a beautiful, chunky spread. A little French food and maybe a little French music tonight--can't go wrong with that!