Poor Girl Gourmet

Eat in Style on a Bare Bones Budget

by Amy McCoy

Price: $16.99
ISBN-13: 978-0-7407-8990-8
ISBN-10: 0-7407-8990-2
Format: Paperback
Size: 7 1/2 x 9 in.
Page Count: 240 pages

“Amy’s cookbook did not disappoint. There are technique tips, advice on how to help you cut back on the food bill, wine and menu selections, and a small section on splurges, too! All while staying focused on having a small budget and eating in stlye.” ––Dishin’ In The Kitchen http://bit.ly/foMDUz

“Given the current economic climate, I can’t imagine a more timely and relevant topic. McCoy knows that cutting back doesn’t have to mean eating poorly. It might mean eating less or eating differently, but it shouldn’t have to mean eating crap food. On the contrary, McCoy makes cooking on a budget look like great fun, which it is, as well as downright classy (note the back section on budget wines). She convincingly demonstrates that by planning and cooking your own meals, you really can save money and eat better (read: healthier and more enjoyably). She even breaks down the estimated costs for you.” ––Food on the Food http://tinyurl.com/2d7agre

“I was immediately excited to see what recipes Amy created on a budget as a good percentage of our budget goes to buying quality foods which automatically cost more. At least until the rest of America wises up, starts buying real food and then we watch the prices decrease. Her book begins with the background of how she started her blog and why – job loss (we all know that one these days) and a requirement to streamline spending on food. She shares her many smart ideas on cutting down food costs without sacrificing quality.” ––Savoring the Thyme http://bit.ly/cut8L5

“In the current economy, many of us are cutting food budgets and getting back to the affordable option of cooking at home.  Published in 2010, Poor Girl Gourmet: Eat in Style on a Bare-Bones Budget provides sophisticated recipes and up-to-date tips for these hard times. ” ––Tastebud Magazine http://bit.ly/bhDgUt

“It’s gourmet without the guilt. “Poor Girl Gourmet: Eat in Style on a Bare-Bones Budget” by Amy McCoy is just the ticket for cash-strapped food lovers pining for their fancy cheeses and expensive cuts of meat.” ––The Portland Press Herald http://www.pressherald.com/life/cookbook-corner_2010-08-25.html

“Loss of paid work put an end to what Amy McCoy calls her willy-nilly food spending and led to her blogging about making the most of her food dollars at poorgirlgourmet.blogspot.com. This grew into a book, “Poor Girl Gourmet: Eat in Style on a Bare-Bones Budget.” Her goal for these recipes is to feed four people well for $15 or less. To help accomplish this, McCoy lists her favorite ways to save money: not wasting food (which includes being careful about what you buy and planning for leftovers); buying in bulk and locally in season; buying whole foods (this means meat on the bone and entire vegetables, not the pre-cut kind); and buying items on sale.” ––Register Guard http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/web/news/sevendays/25170489-35/couscous-mccoy-juice-almonds-bowl.csp

“The appeal of Amy McCoy’s “Poor Girl Gourmet: Eat in Style on a Bare-Bones Budget,” lies in its phenomenal ability to balance good taste with a tight budget.” ––Bluffton Today http://www.npaper-wehaa.com/bluffton-today/2010/08/10/#?article=969398

“If you think eating inexpensively must equal unhealthy take-out, prepare to be enlightened. Amy McCoy, author of the blog and new cookbook, “Poor Girl Gourmet,” believes cheap and healthy food can be a reality in anyone’s life.” ––Radio Boston, Boston’s NPR Station http://www.wbur.org/2010/06/14/pour-girl-gourmet

““Poor Girl Gourmet: Eat in Style on a Bare-Bones Budget,” [is] a 222-page book that features 83 gourmet recipes, all but seven of which can feed a family of four for $15 or less. The items in the book are divided into four categories — soups and salads, entrees, veggies and sides and bakery and desserts. There’s also a splurge section that includes meals priced in the $15 to $30 range. ” ––The Herald News http://bit.ly/cAQbPF

“The best part about this book is Amy’s creativity and sensibility behind each and every recipe.  With the turn of every page you will find good, clean, and fair ingredients combined together to make a delicious gourmet meal that won’t wipe out your firstborn’s college fund.  The recipes account for the cost of every ingredient used to prepare each dish down to the cent, allowing even the most sophisticated palate to eat well despite the effects of the current economic recession.” ––Slow Food USA http://bit.ly/cmJKTp

“Think eating inexpensively means hot dogs, mac and cheese, and cold cereal? Not quite.  Instead, eating frugally includes Honey-Balsamic Chicken Thighs, Ginger Soy Sirloin Tip Stir-Fry with Mushrooms, Roaster Butternut Squash Soup, and Oatmeal Wheat Beer Bread.  These, and many more, are some of the recipes included in Amy McCoy’s Poor Girl Gourmet. ” ––Examiner.com http://bit.ly/cUDIp0

“We have reviewed a slew of “frugal cookbooks” since the recession began. Poor Girl Gourmet by Amy McCoy is the first “budget” cookbook I have not tossed out. This book is fabulous no matter your budget. Amy McCoy loves to cook and she knows how. She and her husband shopped without regard for price or quantity before the recession hit them. Now, she still shops at Whole Foods and cooks tasty gourmet meals, but the difference is she plans her menus and draws on her family’s legacy of Italian home cooking. There are no compromises in this book. Her recipes are fabulous and exciting.” ––Dolce Dolce http://bit.ly/aO7icg

“If you want to eat like a queen on a  pauper’s budget – this is the book for you! It definitely earned a top 5 cookbook spot on my shelf!” ––Katy Shops http://bit.ly/dxFRzG

“A new cookbook might make it a little easier to eat well at less the cost. Massachusetts-based network and television producer Amy McCoy found herself out of work during the recent economic downturn. Out of necessity, she transformed herself from a willy-nilly food spender to a rather parsimonious consumer. Her reinvention led to a blog with the end result a delightful cookbook that offers up engaging stories, friendly advice, and savory recipes, all geared to save money but eat well.” ––Tucson Citizen http://bit.ly/bib04S

“After years of liberally spending on whatever gourmet foods she wanted, Amy McCoy had developed a gourmet palate.  With the economic downturn, she found dollars and cents challenged that palate.  Determined to eat delicious food she reined in her spending and devised ways to eat gourmet-style dishes without an astronomical food bill.  To share her discoveries, she created the poor girl gourmet blog. As she discovered both old and new ways of thrifty cooking, the blog became popular. Now she has compiled her information, discoveries, and creatiions in an easy-to-read book, organized along traditional lines, and filled with tips and recipes, all of which fall within the parameters of a well-calculated budget. ” ––In Mamas Kitchen http://inmamaskitchen.com/Book_Reviews/family_cookbooks/Poor_Girl_Gourmet.html

“Most of all, this cookbook brims with comforts of culinary ease. Many ingredients already are in our pantry. If not, a market visit is inexpensive as Amy pays careful mind to cost. Then, minimal work is asked of me in the kitchen. Burden-free. Worry-free. Minimal weight of moolah in my pocket. Maximum reward.” ––Palate to Pen http://www.palatetopen.com/?p=2297

“In her brand new cookbook, Poor Girl Gourmet: Eat in Style on a Bare-Bones Budget, [Amy McCoy] takes us on a low-budget, high-quality food adventure, offering proven tips for eating wholesomely on the cheap, as well as providing reliable recipes to back the tips up. Her suggestions for frugal eating are one hundred percent applicable for every household and well worth reading about.” ––Simple Bites http://www.simplebites.net/10-tips-to-help-you-conserve-some-coin/

“Amy shows how to make healthy and delicious meals for four for under fifteen dollars, breaking each recipe down to dollars and cents. These are simple but gourmet meals that are presented in a friendly and conversational manner. You will be inspired to shop smarter, eat better, and save money.” ––Living in the Kitchen with Puppies http://bit.ly/c4bVgX

“You don’t have to pay a lot even if you love eating well, according to “Poor Girl Gourmet: Eat in Style on a Bare-Bones Budget,” by cable television cooking personality Amy McCoy. … “Each recipe serves at least four people, so it’s perfect for families on a budget,” said the publisher. … Abundant recipes make up the bulk of the book, of course. Each is published with a section explaining how the author managed to make the dish and stay under her $15 price limit” ––Lincoln Courier http://bit.ly/bQWNRI

“In “Poor Girl Gourmet,” McCoy packs in scores of colorful recipes with short paragraphs explaining what inspired them. There are also tinted boxes telling readers the estimated cost of the meal for four people, and even what the cook can expect to pay for the individual ingredients. The cookbook also includes Poor Girl Gourmet Pointers for saving money, a section on wine values, menu suggestions for staying under a $15 meal budget, and even a “Splurges” chapter for when you want to crank it up to a $30 ceiling.” ––The Sun Chronicle http://www.thesunchronicle.com/articles/2010/06/02/features/7443314.txt

“I loved this cookbook because as a parent I want to serve and eat healthy foods without spending a lot of money but not scrimp on the taste of it. … There is roughly 84 recipes in the book and here is what I loved about that, there is a photo with every single recipe (BONUS for me) and with each recipe she has also broken down the cost of the items so it shows you what you end up saving on each meal.” ––Cindy’s Love of Books http://cindysloveofbooks.blogspot.com/2010/06/poor-girl-gourmet-review.html

“”Poor Girl Gourmet” is a great book for anyone looking to eat gourmet-style food but not break the bank doing it. Everything I tried was simple to make, most recipes don’t require special or “fancy” ingredients, and it all tasted great. There is a good variety of types of ingredients and food and it definitely has a gourmet edge. It is the kind of food you can enjoy as a weeknight meal, or comfortably serve to company. Most of the recipes are set for four people, but I found them easy to reduce if needed. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it for any foodie or foodie wanna-be who wants to eat well and wants some help saving money while doing so.  ––Kahakai Kitchen http://kahakaikitchen.blogspot.com/2010/05/cookbook-review-poor-girl-gourmet-eat.html

“Without the freelance work she’d done for 13 years, [Amy McCoy] kept cooking there in her Rehoboth kitchen — and then she started writing about it. She created the Poor Girl Gourmet blog and shared not just recipes but details on how she was learning to eat wonderfully without spending like she used to be able to do. … McCoy’s passion for fine food and her willingness to cook her way out of life’s unexpected twists and turns can inspire us on many levels. It can send us into the kitchen to cook her recipes for exceptional meals made with simple ingredients. It can encourage us that following our passion can sometimes lead to a new career or mission or way of life. … It will no doubt be welcome by home cooks near and far. It is a superior guide on how to create fine dining in your home inexpensively.” ––The Providence Journal http://www.projo.com/food/content/fd-poor_girl_gourmet_05-19-10_Q6IFT2A_v28.11c59574.html

“This beautiful cookbook features decadent and delectable recipes for foodies with limited budgets, but sophisticated tastes. The book includes: 83 budget gourmet recipes featuring seasonal ingredients, including soups and salads, entrees, vegetables and sides, bakery and desserts, and splurges. All but seven of the recipes are $15 or less and serve four. Recipe pricing is based on regular prices, non-GMO treated meats, and doesn’t require clipping coupons” –– Susie Said http://suzysaid.com/atlanta/index.php?page=stories&display=254

“Do you love gourmet food but can’t afford it in this recession? You’re in the same boat as author Amy McCoy, who started a blog on gourmet food on a budget after the economy took away her luxury life. The blog has now been turned into a cookbook featuring McCoy’s secret tips and recipes. The most helpful chapter of the entire book is entitled “Poor Girl Gourmet Pointers,” where McCoy tells readers how to get the most bang for their buck. Tips include cooking at home, planning meals for a week, minimizing wasting food and shopping in ethnic markets. The book is then divided into chapters based on type of course. Each recipe includes how many people it feeds, which is always at least four, how much it will cost and McCoy’s personal commentary on the dish. From espresso granita, serving four people for $1.57, to honey mustard and cider-marinated pork spareribs for four at $7.56, McCoy’s frugal expertise will save any reader a fortune. And just because the recipes are inexpensive doesn’t mean that the food isn’t just as delicious as a gourmet meal at any restaurant.” ––KansasCity.com http://www.kansascity.com/2010/05/05/1925624/as-summer-heats-up-so-do-options.html#ixzz0nAL2t6r4

“The Poor Girl Gourmet cookbook aims to dispel the myth that inexpensive food is of inferior quality, unhealthy, or difficult to prepare. Each meal for four costs $15 or less, with many of the recipes coming in at under $10. McCoy relies on techniques learned from her mother, grandmothers, and years of home cooking to create memorable meals from less expensive ingredients, and always with an eye toward quality and flavor.” ––Slow Food Rhode Island http://bit.ly/bXLlNW

With the economic downturn Amy transformed from willy-nilly food spender to parsimonious gal. This resulted in a popular blog and a delicious cookbook of the same name that offers engaging stories, friendly advice, and savory recipes. In Poor Girl Gourmet, Amy offers pointers for saving a penny to help those of us who want to spend as little as possible without sacrificing good food.

Poor Girl Gourmet also presents basic techniques for cooking and mouth-watering menu suggestions that break down the cost for each meal. Each recipe serves at least four people, so it’s perfect for families on a budget—because eating well while saving money is something that appeals to all of us. Amy also includes a chapter on wine, reviewing 25 kinds and offering pairing suggestions to elegantly top off the perfect meal. And because once-in-a-while splurges make meals more special and life much sweeter, Amy also includes a chapter for
entrees serving four for $15 to $30. per person.

Recipes include Roasted Butternut Squash Soup, Honey-Balsamic Chicken Thighs, Roasted Beets with Caramelized Beet Greens and Orange-Walnut Pesto, and Sweet Corn and Basil Ice Cream. With full-color photography and heartwarming prose peppered throughout, Poor Girl Gourmet is a divine cookbook that’s sweet on the wallet and tempting to the taste buds.

Serves 6 to 8, $5.00 or less

Estimated cost for four: $1.57. Ding-ding-ding—this is the least expensive stand-alone recipe in the entire book (roasted garlic isn’t exactly a snack—at least not for most people I know). And, the lowest cost way to make this is, of course, to use leftover coffee or espresso, but if you were to estimate the cost based on brewing four 6-ounce cups for this specific purpose, and using Fair Trade coffee that costs $12.99 for approximately forty 6-ounce servings, that would be $1.30. The water is free, my friend, for you have running water at your house, or at least I certainly hope you do. Three-quarters of a cup of sugar is 14¢, and 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder is 13¢ for the fancy, imported type.

By now you know that I abhor food waste. And I feel strongly that this should also apply to beverage waste. You’ve probably already noticed a mention or ten of leftover wine being repurposed in many a dish upon these pages, but what about that coffee that gets left behind each morning? Why should we waste that as well? Well, heck, we don’t have to—just store the leftovers in an airtight container and place them in the refrigerator for a day or two before you intend to make this, and then, on the appointed day, take the 5 or so minutes of actual active time it takes to fashion this refreshing dessert, which, with the addition of just a little milk in a glass, can also double as a fancy frozen coffee shop–style drink. So sit back and bask in your frugality. For you, my friend, you do not let a thing go to waste, no, you do not.

1 ½ cups brewed espresso or coffee
1 ½ cups water
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon Dutch process cocoa powder, plus additional for garnish (optional, but I do love a little chocolate flavor in my coffee)
Whipped cream, for garnish

1 Combine the espresso, water, sugar, and cocoa powder in a large mixing bowl and get out your whisk. Whisk vigorously to ensure that all of the sugar dissolves and the cocoa is combined into the mix. If it isn’t already cool, cool the espresso mixture completely in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours.

2 Now, here comes the personal choice part of the recipe. If you like a creamier texture, process the granita in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions, then transfer it to an airtight container, and freeze for an hour before serving.

3 If you prefer a little more of the shaved ice-style texture, place the espresso mixture in a 9 by 13-inch freezer-safe roasting pan, such as Pyrex, and allow it to freeze for 2 hours. Scrape all of the contents of the pan up with a fork, and I do mean all of it. Do not leave any icy bit unscraped. Return it to the freezer for an hour, and then serve it forth with a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkle of cocoa powder, in an espresso cup if you’d like to earn additional adorable points.

NOTE: I often have this as my morning coffee in the summer. Simply add enough milk to get it to your desired lightness, and there you have a super-inexpensive fancy coffee shop–style drink. Sweet.

Serves 4, $5.00 to $10.00

Estimated cost for four: $6.67. The chicken legs should cost no more than $1.49 per pound. Rounding up, we’ll call it $4.50 for the 4 legs. At $6.99 per pound, ¼ pound of olives will cost roughly $1.75. The olive oil will cost us 24¢, and the thyme approximately 18¢. If you do not have a good Italian or specialty deli in your area, jarred olives (with pits) are fine to use. In that case, you will use approximately half of the jar, and at $3.59 per jar, that’s an increase in price of approximately 30¢.

Continuing in my usual inspired-by-Italy theme, this recipe arose from my desire to recreate—in a budget-conscious fashion—the flavors of a meal of roasted duck with olives that I had on vacation in, yep, Italy. The olives alone were an epiphany—I had never before had roasted olives and was swooning over the dance of mellowed salty and buttery flavors that the roasting had imparted. Though you are welcome to try this with duck legs, I have substituted the more readily available—and don’t you just know it—inexpensive, chicken legs. We enjoy this dish at our house with either Basic Polenta (page 118) and Roasted Garlic Collard Greens (page 94) or Buttery Mashed Potatoes (page 121) and Roasted Cauliflower (page 108). Uncork yourself a Sangiovese wine, and imagine you and your beloved sitting in a Tuscan piazza, warm breezes and the smell of roasting meats wafting through the air.

4 chicken legs, approximately ¾ pound each
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon dried thyme, or 1 tablespoon fresh
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
¼ pound good-quality olives, such as Kalamata or Castelvetrano, unpitted

1 Preheat the oven to 400°F.

2 In a large baking dish or lasagne pan, arrange the chicken legs in a single layer, skin side up. Using a basting brush or your hands—your hands are the best tools you have, remember—lightly coat the skin with the olive oil. Sprinkle the legs with thyme, and season them with salt and pepper.

3 Scatter the olives around the chicken such that they have their own space in which to live. It is okay if a few olives reside in the fold of a leg, but you do want to try to get the majority of them onto their own space in the baking dish so that they are marinated with the chicken fat as they cook.

4 Roast the chicken until the skin is crispy and juices run clear when the legs are pierced, 55 minutes to 1 hour. Serve each leg forth with one-quarter of the olives per person, even to the olive haters, for they need to taste and then find themselves transformed to olive lovers, or at least roasted olive lovers. Be certain to remind your dinner companions that the olives are not pitted so that no one loses a tooth. That’s no way to start a meal, or inspire a love of roasted olives.

To that end, McCoy created her blog, poorgirlgourmet.blogspot.com, where she offers up her insights alongside delicious gourmet recipes that are inexpensive to prepare. McCoy lives on a gentleman’s farm in southeastern Massachusetts.