Sunday, March 3, 2013

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*

19 comments:

  1. This is so cool! I want to go to a Williams Sonoma demo!

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  2. What a cool demo. I've made lots of risottos and also quite a few soups with beans in them (both are staples for this vegetarian gluten free girl!).

    I don't have a pressure cooker either. I love the idea of demos- I'll have to take a look to see if there are any free ones here in Australia.

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  3. I haven't heard of Williams Sonoma but they sure are interesting!

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  4. that risotto sounds SO good!! i would love to go to one of those demonstrations, sounds so fun...

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  5. I love that you are going to these. And the tip about cooking pasta separately from the rest of the soup is GENIUS!

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  6. I have never had Risotto. The only time I had ever heard of it was in a famous Seinfeld episode :)

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  7. i LOVVVVVVVE rissoto but i never made it myself - it's one of the dishes i just will NEVER make b/c i enjoy it SO much i like to go to a fancy place and order it :o)

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  8. Sounds delicious! I'm not a fan of beans either but I might've just gulped them down like you did! :)

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  9. Wow, sounds interesting, food made fresh and fast, i would lurv to see that in the uk, loads of fast junk over here. haha :)
    http://rock4less.blogspot.co.uk

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  10. I have never tried risotto before but it looks delicious!

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  11. Oh these look like so much fun! I attended a few classes like this when I worked at Surlatable.

    Ali of

    www.dressingken.com

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  12. oh, yummy!!! that soup looks delicious!

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  13. I love the title of your post. Its perfect!

    http://thecoyotethistle.com
    http://instagram.com/thecoyotethistle

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  14. The ravioli in the last demo looked relish, but after seeing this one, this one seems even better! Now I'm pretty much convinced that I'm destined to go to one of these free demos! :)

    xoxo,
    Nat

    Modern Buttercup

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  15. How cool! I didn't know they did this! I love love love risotto but have never tried to make it.
    -Jamie
    ChatterBlossom

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  16. This all looks soooooo good! Not a fan of beans, either but I trust you if you say it was yummy and went back for seconds! I need to get in on these free cooking lessons and find a place in my town!

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  17. I absolutely love their demos ...but I've gotta admit, I'm mostly in it for the samples!
    Lexi @ Glitter, Inc.

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