Customer Reviews

Cheapskate in the Kitchen

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I did not find this book very helpful. There is an entire chapter dedicated to which expensive pots are the best to "invest" in (it seems the pricier the better, and I mean several hundred dollars, I actually went to stores and priced the recommended brands) and what kind of fancy kitchen gadgets are needed to create gourmet meals. I am not a professional chef, just a simple housewife that enjoys preparing simple, good-tasting meals for my family, the recipes here seem to be time-consuming and complicated. Not much money to be saved here!

My spouse is a professional gourmet cook who read this book with interest. The conclusion from our family gourmand? This is the perfect book for the home cook desiring to learn professional techniques so they can prepare restaurant quality meals at a fraction of the cost of dining in a fancy eatery.

I agree should have been called "Cheapskate Gourmet" or something like that. I did not find a book chock-full of big money-saving tips like I was hoping for. It's mostly a gourmet cookbook with tips that help curb costs specifically of gourmet cooking. I'm sure this book will save me money if it helps curb our habit of eating out, but it would probably increase grocery bill of a family already cooking at home.

I also am not thrilled at the paperback novel publishing type, with the small print, and binding that's hard to keep open. I'm sure it kept the book affordable, but it's not ideal for a cookbook!

While this book doesn't have the most frugal recipes I've ever seen, it does provide a way to eat gourmet food for a lot less than our family would have to spend if we went out for dinner at a nice restaurant. I don't use any of the recipes for our regular family dinner fare (we're on too tight of a budget for that), but I feel Cheapskate in the Kitchen taught me how to prepare better special occasion and company meals that won't break my budget as much as those special meals did before.

In the introduction of the book the author writes: "What kind of book is this, you ask? ... This is a book that will teach you how to get from Spaghetti-O's to Scallopini alla Marsala, culinarily speaking. It's for those who don't have the knowledge to be Cordon Bleu chefs, let alone the money to purchase expensive ingredients ... This is a book for those who yearn to prepare and present meals with all the style of Martha Stewart, the talent of Julia Child, the delightful wit of Graham Kerr and the enthusiasm of Jeff Smith. It's for those who go on day after day, secretly wishing and yearning to be fine gourmet cooks, but find themselves stuck in the macaroni-and-cheese rut."

Since that pretty welll describes me when I first read the book, I guess the author hit her target because I thoroughly enjoyed it. I have to admit that we still eat mac-and-cheese quite often, but I now have a better concept of how to prepare more gourmet-type meals than I did before reading this book. Plus, the book itself is so inexpensive, I think it was definitely worth adding to my bookshelf.

I expected to find a book of recipes and ideas that were encouraging to those truly working with a limited budget in the kitchen. Instead, I found her recipes and thoughts to be more upscale. I was especially disheartened to read of her view of potlucks and how distasteful they are to her. Those of us who are raising a family on limited means, generally look forward to those occasions where we have an opportunity to gather with others and share friendship over food. Overall, I found the book too upscale in opinions and dishes for my tastes.

Unless maybe you are a single person who eats out at fancy resturants, and would like to consider this an alternative. Then again, that is if you could only understand half of the recipe directions! This book is the only ... thing you will be getting out of it. Not at all worth the money, (good thing I checked it out at the library before buying it), I would reccomend either The complete Tightwad Gazette, or Not Just Beans anytime before I would this book!!!!

If you're looking for inexpensive "everyday" family-style recipes and ideas, this probably isn't the book for you. BUT ... if you're looking for gourmet recipes without the usual accompanying gourmet price tag, you might feel you've hit the jackpot with this inexpensive little gem. I felt when reading this book that I'd stumbled upon a small gourmet cooking school for beginners rather than a book for saving money in the kitchen. I think the title is maybe a little bit misleading. Since most of Mary Hunt's books deal with living inexpensively, the idea of a "cheapskate in the kitchen" brings to my mind someone who's trying to keep their food budget down to $30 a week or something along those lines. This book won't help those people save money, but it would definitely help someone save a few pennies if they go out to eat a lot and would like to learn to prepare gourmet quality foods at home.

This format and the content of this book are tedious and unentertaining. Every single money saving tip in here can be obtained from internet frugal sites for free. And on top of that, the recipes are ridiculous. Not only are they not family friendly, you could blow your entire food budget for the week purchasing the speciality items to make just one of the meals. Want to feed your kids Sea Scallops, Pheasant and Prosciutto wrapped asparagus on the cheap? Well then you might buy this book? But if you want to cook these things on a regular basis anyway there are much better recipes and cookbooks out there for gourmet meals such as this so you've pretty much wasted your money anyway you go with this book.

I got this book from the library hoping to find some neat tips to save on groceries and kitchen items. This book gave me neither. It talks alot about how to cook gourmet type meals, not at all cheap. Not impressed with this book. I am glad I didn't order it.

This is one of my many cookbooks. I like how the author gives substitutions for ingredients if you don't have them on hand. I wish that there were illustrations and that's why I only gave it a 4. P.S- The honey glazed pheasant/chicken is excellent!!!