Sahil's Test Kitchen

Chef notes

Red velvet cookies sandwiched with cream cheese frosting in the middle. Same flavor as the red velvet cake but in cookie form. The cream cheese filling is the same frosting I use for the cake. I could eat it by the spoonful. These look really impressive and aren't that hard to make.

Chef notes

Made three flavors at once: chocolate peanut butter, matcha, and banana bread. You just mix everything the night before and stick it in the fridge. By morning it's thick and creamy without any cooking at all. The matcha one looks the coolest but the chocolate peanut butter one is really good.

Chef notes

Classic vanilla cake with homemade buttercream and fresh strawberries on top. This is the one that got me into making cakes from scratch. Buttercream is pretty simple: butter, powdered sugar, a splash of cream. The strawberries on top make it look really professional even though it's not the hardest thing to do.

Chef notes

Soaking the chicken in buttermilk first makes it way more tender and helps the coating stick. I made two versions: one with just spices and one glazed with sauce. The double dredge (flour, then buttermilk, then flour again) is what makes the coating really thick and crunchy. The sauced one is honestly incredible.

Chef notes

The whole point is to underbake it just enough so the center stays liquid. Timing is everything. One minute too long and it's just a regular chocolate cake. I dusted mine with powdered sugar which makes it look really fancy. When you cut into it and the chocolate flows out it's so satisfying.

Chef notes

This sauce is so good. You cook down the tomatoes with butter and garlic, add the cream, and it turns this amazing orange-pink color. It's called vodka sauce but you cook the vodka off so it's fine. I made it spicier than the original recipe because we like heat. Really good on the homemade pasta.

Chef notes

Threw everything in the food processor and blended it up. I've made it with pine nuts and also with walnuts. Both are good but pine nuts taste more like actual pesto to me. Use enough olive oil or it gets too thick and clumpy. Goes perfectly on the homemade pasta.

Chef notes

Classic waffles from scratch. The key is not overmixing the batter. Lumps are fine. A hotter waffle iron setting gives you crispier edges which is way better than soft and soggy. Let them sit on a wire rack so they stay crispy instead of steaming on a plate.

Chef notes

Making pasta with the KitchenAid attachment is honestly so fun. You mix the dough, let it rest, feed it through the machine, and actual spaghetti or fettuccine just comes out. The dough has to be exactly right. Too wet and it sticks everywhere, too dry and it cracks. First batch got stuck but after that I figured it out. Way better than store-bought.