Meet Lynn from Order in the Kitchen

11/17/2014

A self-described attorney in the apron, Lynn is a law school graduate bringing order to the courtroom and the kitchen. Her blog, Order in the Kitchen, is mains meets desserts, cocktails and beyond! And, did we mention she has a category just for cheese? We’re in heaven!

Not only will you find delectable delights on her blog, but you’ll also get a taste of DIY charm, healthy living inspiration, travel adventures and more.

We had the pleasure of chatting with Lynn! Check out what she had to say about her favorite cooking hacks, her inspiration and her favorite food.

What inspired you to become a blogger?
I had a smaller blog with a couple friends at the end of law school where we basically just shared recipes that we had tried, usually adapted from cookbooks or other blogs. This kept us busy toward the end of law school (when everyone’s getting a little anxious for the Bar Exam). After our final semester, I decided that I wanted to start my own blog, and so I brainstormed a unique blog name that reflected who I was – an attorney who loved cooking. The blog grew from there. Now, I’m in my fourth year of practicing law and I have started to pay a bit more attention to my blog. It was definitely hard at first balancing the two!  I’m loving my balance between being a family law attorney and exploring my creative side with this blog.

Favorite food to eat:
My favorite food is real Italian cuisine. I have always loved “Italian food” but it wasn’t until I lived in Rome for a semester in college that I realized what real Italian food is. Now, I’m afraid I have to admit that I’m particularly picky when it comes to good Italian food. Some of my favorite Italian meals were lentil stew and carrot salad that my host mother would make practically 3 times a week.

Favorite food to make:
Simple pasta dishes are probably my favorite. Carbonara and the Easy Bolognese sauce are two of my favorite blog recipes that I make at least once a week! I actually just had the bolognese for dinner! I love these, because they are fast and easy and with an extremely busy and oftentimes stressful job, it’s nice to come home to something easy to make.

Sweet or savory … or both:
Honestly, I’m more of a savory person. I love gelato and certain kinds of sweets but my real weakness is a delicious pasta dish or a full-bodied sauce over a filet mignon.

Favorite trick of the trade when it comes to cooking/baking:
Crumb coating! Once I learned this trick, beautifully decorating the cake was a piece of cake (cheesy, I know)!  Basically what you do is allow the cake layers to completely cool (sometimes, I even put them in the freezer for a bit) and layer them off to make them flat, then you put a very thin layer of frosting around the cake to lock in any crumbs. I then pop it in the fridge for about 20 minutes and then frost the cake as I normally would. It’s a great way to keep your cake pieces out of the frosting! My other trick of the trade is my favorite book, The Flavor Bible, which is always there when I need some creative ideas for recipe development, or if I have something I know I want to use, I will go to my trusty book and it always helps!

Favorite food substitute when cooking/baking:
I love substituting Greek Yogurt. I do this all the time when recipes call for cream or half and half. It makes it a bit healthier and honestly I’ve never noticed a remarkable difference in taste.

One piece of advice you would give to novice cooks:
Don’t be afraid of failure! I have messed up pie doughs and made things where Matt (my fiancé) has said “yea this wasn’t your best” and instead of giving up, I make the recipe several more times, making adjustments here and there until I finally get it right. Sometimes, I’ve made something 10 times before it ever makes it to my blog.

Biggest food splurge:
I totally believe in splurging on fabulous restaurants while traveling. My thoughts on that are you never know if you will be able to go back again, so you better get those meals in while you can. My favorites include Roy’s in Hawaii and Cut in Las Vegas. This depends on where you are though, because I will say some of the best food I’ve had were in “hole in the wall” places in Rome, Florence, Barcelona, London, New York City and Brooklyn.

The quote you live by:
“And though she be but little, she is fierce.”–Shakespeare

Favorite recipe you’ve posted:
Oh this is a tough one! I love each of my recipes for different reasons. I will say that I’m still thinking about this Arugula and Quinoa Salad with Pomegranate, Asparagus and Goat Cheese! I think I need to make it again very soon!