I Can't Cook, Therefore I Go To Free Williams Sonoma Demos!! Part II

Williams Sonoma Demo - Fresh, Fast, & Fabulous!

This weekend, inspired by the sun shining, I adventured to another absolutely FREE Williams Sonoma Demo! I actually found on their website the links to their past demos and the worksheets handed out with the recipes and tips for all of you to check out. Please Click HERE. This week's theme was Fresh, Fast & Fabulous and a lady who looked WAY too much like Frances Mcdormant from Fargo instructed us on how to make a Risotto and an Italian Bean & Pasta Soup! 

To be honest I never knew what a Risotto was except that it had rice in it up until yesterday! I knew Chef Ramsey yelled about it on Hell's Kitchen but I have never made it or tasted one. I'm a changed woman...No really! A Risotto by definition is a dish of rice cooked in broth with added vegetables or cheese. It was so delicious and it was made with Aborio rice and they used a slow cooker with risotto setting to literally make the dish within a half hour. I don't have a slow cooker so I'm pretty happy the recipe that was shared had directions for regular cooking. I think I will have to try this out in the near future as well!

Here is the recipe that was made: RISOTTO WITH LEAKS & SUGAR SNAPS!

The only difference is that the instructor used Asparagus instead of sugar snaps...It is still hard to find fresh vegetables in this time of year! She didn't use tarragon and honestly I don't know what that is...I should have asked her...

Williams Sonoma Demo - Yes they gave us a large portion to try! 

The other dish that was demoed was an Italian Bean & Pasta Soup. To be honest, I am not a fan of beans in any way shape or form. I know, it's like "How could you not?!?"  Ironically Craig is not a fan of them either. But I have to say I slurped up every bit of the sample and even asked for a second helping. I'm really assuming it was the Breville pressure cooker they used to make them so tasty. I have no patience to soak dried beans every in my life. 

Here is the Recipe that was made: Italian Bean & Pasta Soup.

I'm not sure if I would ever make bean soup, however the instructor gave us all a very useful tip:

If you are making ANY  SOUP with a PASTA in it, COOK THE PASTA FIRST IN A SEPARATE PAN!!!  If the pasta is cooked with the contents of the soup it could soak up all the flavor... The also added again that if you are going to go through all the trouble to cook such a fine meal, whether it a risotto or a soup, make sure to use great flavorful ingredients. Your time cooking is worth it! =)

It's such a great demostration...She even measured everything in front of us!

There wasn't as many tips and steps compared to the ravioli one I went to last week, but it's a completely eye-opening experience seeing a recipe done out live. Sometimes on cooking shows the chefs don't measure, there is a time clock, or a ridiculous ingredient that really makes the TV shows just for entertainment purposes. It's hard to know what a pinch is or a dollop sometimes! Luckily, these Williams Sonoma instructors really do measure everything out and GIVE YOU ALTERNATIVES to the recipes too! It's such a free little treat to watch these demos! =)

Have you Ever Made a Risotto??? Do you like Beans Enough to make a Bean Soup??

I'd love to hear!

*All photos in this post were taken by me*