- It features 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.
- The recipe pricing is based on regular prices, non-GMO treated meats, and doesn’t require clipping coupons, so if one shops sales (which I strongly suggest) and does clip coupons (which I suggest only if it’s a product that you actually use on a regular basis), they’ll very likely do better than the estimated cost in the book.
- The seven recipes that cost more than $15 are budget splurges, meals that are suitable for company, and cost $15-$30 for four.
- There is a menu suggestions section in the back of the book to help readers create entire meals that cost less than $15 for four.
- There are reviews of 26 lesser-known value wine varietals. I figure everyone knows how to find an inexpensive Chardonnay or Merlot, but they might not be so sure about an Inzolia or Touriga Nacional, which are interesting wines and provide great value.
- The book is illustrated throughout with full-color photographs.
“Poor Girl Gourmet charms with its thrifty but delicious recipes. Author Amy McCoy is an erudite and supremely likable companion in the kitchen. Cooking cucina povera, as outlined by McCoy, makes the process of saving money in the kitchen fun – and tasty.”
– Novella Carpenter, author of Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer
“Everyone should be able to eat food that is good for them, good for the people who grow it, and good for the planet. It doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive. Poor Girl Gourmet shows us how to find, prepare, and enjoy good food without spending a lot of money.”
– Josh Viertel, past president of Slow Food USA
“Amy truly loves food—growing it, preparing it, enjoying it, trying new things—and that love really comes through in Poor Girl Gourmet. Her recipes are surprisingly easy, and best of all, they don’t rely on processed foods. She and her husband have found some creative ways to live well and eat well on a budget, and their experience is one that resonates with me and so many other people who are trying to do the same thing.”
– Lane Butler, editor, Andrews McMeel