“What initially appealed to me about Amy’s cookbook is her use of in-season ingredients but as I read through the introduction and recipes I discovered a shared belief that good food leads to a good life. She puts an emphasis on eating well with cost savings in mind. What I really like about her advice is she not only shares practical tips for food budgeting but also suggests that choosing in season, homegrown or locally grown produce will save money too.” – P. Allen Smith, P. Allen Smith’s Garden Home
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This relatable and hilariously written cookbook is laid out by type of dish with each recipe complete with a cost breakdown including the price of each ingredient at full price; however, she urges readers to buy meat on sale to further cut cost and allow space in the budget for dessert like her Expresso Granita with comes in at just $1.57 using leftover coffee. – Relish.com
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Who doesn’t want to eat like a gourmet, but still stay within their monthly food budget? The Poor Girl Gourmet cookbook takes us on a low-budget, high-quality food adventure, but without an ounce of snob. We’ve been blissfully eating from Amy’s friendly and comprehensive cookbook all summer long. Her Fish Cakes with Lemon-Dill sauce are in regular rotation on our menu plans, and Tangy Barbecue Sauce (several jars of which are stashed in my freezer) has forever changed my watered-down BBQ sauce paradigm. – Aimee Wimbush-Bourque, Simple Bites
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The new cookbook Poor Girl Gourmet really hit a chord with me. Author Amy McCoy was inspired by her boot-straps Italian grandma, who was not only a resourceful cook, but one who started her own restaurant on a wing and a prayer back in the 60s. She was also inspired by time spent in Italy and falling in love with the simple, so-called peasant cooking that was not only resourceful, but delicious. She began to tire of the wastefulness in our culture and yearned to find a way in her home kitchen to employ that same kind of culinary mindset, which not only made for some fun times in the kitchen with her husband, but cut her food budget substantially. – Barnes and Noble Book Club
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“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
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“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
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“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
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“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
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