Glad you liked the lesson. Listing the total time is a good idea and is something that we will look into. You can also see the times for each topic on the main cooking school page to get an idea of how long each lesson will be. The great thing about these lessons is that overall they are sure a lot quicker (this one is about 20 mins) than driving to a 2 or 3 hour cooking class. Cheers!

I too started these classes through the Cooking Club. I am having so much fun! We tried the basic risotto two nights ago and even tho it took awhile, it was interesting to see it cook through the different stages. It was a winner...so creamy and delicious. Thanks.

As the dinner chef for a busy resort I am always looking to add new and interesting side for our entres.
Thanks to your video, I will now be able to offer risotto as a compliment to our choice of potato.

I am so gratefull for this lesson because at the moment I am studying to become a chef. This lesson showed me each step and explained to me what l was looking for in each step and how to achieve it.
The first time ever I made risotto it came out perfectly and l was able to do this at school, so thank you very much again rouxbe!

Yesterday I gave it a shot, practice does indeed make perfect.
The puree of fresh asparagus stems gave the risotto a wonderful light green tint near the end and the tips along with some fresh sliced mushrooms looked great. Melting the fresh parmesan into the rice and finishing with a smidge of kosher salt and pepper... MMMMMMMM!
This site has been awesome and I am so thankful for the opportunity to visit as a food club member for two weeks.

dawn ? can you do a risotto with a potatoe stock with ham fat simmered in to it and then strained just curious.

Sure thing Frank, you can try many different variations. Just keep in mind that if the potato stock is quite starchy you may want to dilute it with some water or stock, as you are already cooking a starchy rice dish. Cheers!

& I thought I knew how to make risotto. Even if u use your stove for storage, after watching those steps u will know how to cook the dish!
Great lesson. A lot of interesting tricks like to show u how the rice should be toasted, when to add stock, ect ...
& I think I like better the idea of adding sauteed vegetables on the top of the risotto instead of cooking them with it. U can taste 2 dishes seperately in one dish!

I am 54 y.o. & thought cooking school was for bored & boring people. I WAS WRONG!!! Thank you to CCA for letting me be a product tester here. I have just finished my 5th lesson & I am so excited. We are having a covered dish dinner at Church(Baptist) on Sunday & I will take a shrimp pilaf from what I learned in that class. WOW! I do have a question. Is there a list of defintions &/or translations on site? I had never heard the word mirepoix & it took me a while to figure out what it meant. Also to understand the difference between sweat & saute.Things like that. The lessons are great. I use the pause & go back buttons A LOT. Having everything explained as to why & why not makes all the difference for me. Thank you again & good luck to everybody in school. Have MARVELOUS day & keep SMILING because God loves YOU! Laura

dawn: can a hollandaise sauce be used in with a risotto if it is applyed to a main ingredent that is on top of a risotto.

frank

This is where you as the cook have the freedom to experiment. Personally, I don't think the two should be combined. A well-made risotto topped with seafood should shine on its own and not need yet another sauce over top. Having said that, each cook is free to experiment to see what works for them. Cheers!

this was a fantastic lesson have always avoided this method because I had heard it was difficult. Not anymore thanks to you. can not wait to try this tuesday night. as a bed for my rattatouille. do you think adding some mushroom and parmesan will enhance the bed? again thank you

I would start off simple. Learn to perfect a basic risotto first before adding other ingredients, although a bit of parmigiano-reggiano at the end will not hurt at all. You're serving ratatouille with it so I don't think the mushrooms are necessary. Having said that, you are free to experiment and create your own twists. That's what it is all about; but, if you haven't made it before just start out simple and perfect the technique. You just might discover that a well-made risotto is so good on its own you may not need to doctor it with anything else. Cheers!

when is the best time to add herbs to risotto to get max flavor out of them? specifically green herbs like fresh thyme, sage and rosemary?

It all depends on the type of herb you are using. Fresh, delicate herbs are ideally added at the end of cooking (i.e. basil), and hardier herbs can be added near the beginning. There is an entire lesson in the cooking school called How to Use and Cook with Herbs that helps to answer these questions. Cheers!

I added the zest and juice of a large lemon towards the end of the cooking time along with a tbsp of dried celery leaves (didn't have any fresh). I don't know if I did everything correct, but it sure tasted good!!

Thank you, Rouxbe, for this lesson. Risotto has a bad reputation for being difficult to make well. After this lesson, I made my very first and it turned out fabulous, perfectly cooked, creamy and full of flavour. I finished it with mascarpone, parmesian, morilles and thyme. I'll be making this again and again!

I am going to cook risotto for five this coming weekend and am afraid that my saucier pan could be a little bit too small for that... So, I am wondering whether you could give me some advice on which one would work better for risotto for 5 (I am thinking 2 cups rice):
1- Saucier Pan 2QT (8.5 X 3 in) - Heavy bottom stainless steel
2- Dutch Oven 5.5QT (10.5 X 4.5 in) - Heavy bottom stainless steel
3- French Skillet 13 in (13 X 2.5 in) - Heavy bottom stainless steel
4- Sauce Pan 5QT (9 X 4 in) - Hard anodized nonstick
Thanks so much for your help!

Your French skillet sounds like it would be the best choice. Have a great dinner. Cheers!

So this was a fantastic lesson. Risotto was always very intimidating to me but now I know not only what to do but why we do it.

I made my first risotto dish last night and although the end result was delicious, it took almost an entire hour for the rice to absorb the stock. Any idea of what happened?

A few theories: 1.) I was using a recipe that called for about 3 cups of leeks and 1 cup of fennel per 1.5 cups of rice -- so that's four cups of aromatics when I believe you should use much less.

2.) I was using a new enamelware dutch oven and was afraid to heat it too much, so I kept the heat on medium-low. Closer to medium than to low, but not all the way medium. Could that cause the problem with absorbing the stock?

Thanks again for a great class!

Glad you enjoyed the lesson and great job on tackling the risotto method. The heat would have the biggest impact on how quickly the rice absorbs the liquid. Next time, try using higher heat so the liquid is constantly simmering and bubbling nicely. This will reduce the cooking time. The amount of mirepoix doesn't matter - it's up to you and your personal tastes. Cheers!

Aha! I was blaming the amount of mirepoix due to stubbornness. But now I realize that it was definitely the heat -- mine was nowhere near simmering or bubbling nicely. Thanks for your help!

Tonight was the first time I made risotto for dinner. I live alone and like anyone who lives alone it is hard to cook for one, I guess because I always cooked for my mother until I lost her. I would have never been able to do this before I started taking classes here. I found it so rich and creamy. I know the more I learn the more I will be eating like a king.

Awesome work! The more you learn, the more you will see how easy it can be to cook for one. Your mother would be proud :-) Keep it up and happy cooking :-) Cheers!

My first Rouxbe post...I love you guys!
This Risotto was one of my free, trial lessons and has since become a staple in my house. It was this lesson that sold me on Rouxbe!
I'm using an Emeril Cookware Tri-Ply 12in stainless pan for this recipe (I understand it is made by AllClad) and am having problems with uneven heating (middle gets hot, not so much the outside) and am looking to buy a nice saute pan with lid or like. And now I'm confused...
Would a tri ply All Clad with aluminum core work or would I just run into these same problems?...do I need the more expensive copper core? I've seen ya'll mention Viking in the bast...do they have features that make them better, that I need to be looking for?
I've tried searching the forums but didn't see this specific question asked and would appreciate any ideas ya'll might offer...
Thanks in advance!!