“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 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
