Stay In vs. Take Out: Gnocchi Dinner Challenge

     It's amazing to me how many conversations I have with my friends about the cost of eating out versus the cost of eating in.  I rarely eat out or order in, and in New York City - that's pretty freakin' rare!  Maybe once a week will I have dinner out with a friend or pick up lunch at work, but other than that, I cook every single meal that I eat.  And trust me; I eat well.  My lunches are quite often the envy of my office mates.  But as many times as I've had this debate with coworkers, friends, and family, either you believe that eating out for nearly every meal saves you money or you don't.  However, I've discovered this debate has nothing to do with money at all.

     "Sometimes it's cheaper for me to order in two meals than to go to the grocery store and buy everything to cook dinner!" exclaimed my friend Kosta, as we stood in line at the grocery store buying ingredients to make Ellie Krieger's Turkey Meatballs with Quick and Spicy Tomato Sauce and Whole-Wheat Spaghetti.

     Cooking and eating are two of Kosta's and my favorite thing to do together... and apart.  There are very few memories that we have together that don't involve us stuffing our faces.  Most of our memories start out like this, "Remember when we went to St. Thomas and went to ...." and then they generally end like this "Oooh, but do you remember those amazing corn and crab fritters that we had at that hole in the wall place?  Oooh and that spicy sauce that was with it!  Oh my god, those were soooo good."  Yes, we are true ChunkerMonks.

     I rolled my eyes at his comment, "That's ridiculous," I said.  "The reason it costs you a $100 to make one meal is because you never have anything in your house to cook with.  If you kept a regularly stocked pantry and worked with what you have, then you wouldn't have to buy every little thing for the recipe."

     "Yeah, but I wouldn't usually have turkey meat or bread crumbs or..." he replied, listing off practically the entire recipe that we were making.  Sure, it would cost me an arm and a leg too if every night I cooked whatever I craved... Tika Marsala, Truffled Beef Wellington, Duck a l'Orange.  But I didn't, because I know what's in my fridge and in my pantry... and it's not a whole duck or filet migon.  But we weren't talking about a special gourmet meal with hard to find ingredients, we were talking about spaghetti and meatballs.  If he kept a stocked pantry, he wouldn't need to buy all the spices, olive oil, onions, dried pasta, canned tomatoes, etc.  He would only have to get the meat and maybe one or two specialty items.  As I explained this to him, I realized the problem wasn't the cost; it was the effort.    Laziness was holding him, and several of my other friends back from seeing the light.

     I took for granted that I really plan my meals for two weeks when I go grocery shopping.  I take an evening every two weeks and think, "OK.  What am I going to eat for lunches and dinners for the next couple of weeks?"  The more I do it, the better I get at it.  I integrate recipes into each other so that I'm buying similar ingredients for all my recipes and not a 20 different ingredients for each recipe.  I make plans to hit up the farmer's market a couple times a week and get my fresh produce and work my recipe around what's in season.  I always plan for quickie meals that I can throw together in a minute if necessary for those lazy nights.  And I always...  ALWAYS plan on a few leftovers for tomorrow's lunch or dinner.  I'm not a huge fan of more than 2 - 3 left over meals, so I like to find recipes that serve 4 or can be halved - see my Singleton tips (pssst...that's for single people like me that don't want to cook for 6 people).  And yes, it's a lot of work really, but it saves me money and I never have to worry about what to make for dinner.  

     I also have a very strict food budget, which is another reason I don't eat out often.  Recently, I had a friend visit from California.  She very generously treated us to a couple glasses of wine and an appetizer at Rockefeller Center.  We were both shocked when the bill came and it was roughly $40; she was shocked for how expensive it was and I for how cheap it was.  I didn't have the heart to tell her that $40 for cocktails and an appetizer was inexpensive to NYC standards, especially at tourist trap.  She still talks about how we were ripped off.

     On average, I spend about $40 - 60 on food a week (for you New Yorkers reading this, I shop at Trader Joe's.  That's another way I keep my costs down... needless to say, groceries are expensive in NYC too).  That's $5.72 - 8.57 a day for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks - oh and mostly organic foods.  Not bad huh?  So now, that $20 for two take-out meals that was so much cheaper... isn't looking so cheap.  And let's just be honest, take out and delivery is never just $20...  Especially in New York.

     So me being me, a brat with an overwhelming need to be right, I decided to pick a gourmet dinner, that's healthy - another option you don't always get when ordering in - and figure out how much it costs.  I also decided to pick something fast, 30 minutes or less, to compare to the amount of time it would take a delivery dinner to arrive.  Now some of these things I already have in my pantry, so they were not factored into the initial cost... ahem, please see my original point.  Anyway, here's the outcome...

This week's Stay-In Dinner:

Gnocchi with Broccoli Rabe, Caramelized Garlic, and Parmesan

Spinach, White Bean, Bacon Salad with Maple-Mustard Dressing

30 minutes to make

7-point dinner

$3.09 per serving or $12.36 for 4 servings 

Gnocchi with Broccoli Rabe, Caramelized Garlic, and Parmesan

3/4 lb. broccoli rabe (rapini, baby broccoli, or Chinese broccoli), trimmed
1 (16-ounce) box vacuum-packed gnocchi

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 cup (1 ounce) shredded Parmesan cheese

1. Cook broccoli rabe in boiling water 4 minutes.  Remove broccoli rabe with a slotted spoon, and place in a colander; drain.  Add gnocchi to pan and cook 3 minutes or until done.  Drain gnocchi in a colander over a bowl, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid.

2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add garlic to pan; cook 3 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring frequently.  Add broccoli rabe, gnocchi, and reserved cooking liquid to pan; cook 2 minutes.  Stir in salt and pepper.  Place 1 1/4 cups gnocchi mixture in each of 4 shallow bowls; top each serving with 1 tablespoon cheese.

Yield:  4 servings, $2.06 per serving, WW Points: 5 

Pantry Items: Olive oil, garlic, salt, red pepper 

*Singleton Tip:  This recipe was easily halved and the leftovers reheated really well in the microwave.

Jackie Mills, MS, RD, Cooking Light, APRIL 2008

Spinach, White Bean, Bacon Salad with Maple-Mustard Dressing 

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar

1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil 

1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Pinch of salt

Pinch of freshly ground black pepper

2/3 cup canned Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained

1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions

1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper

1/4 cup finely chopped apple **

3 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled

1 (7-ounce) packages fresh baby spinach

Combine first 6 ingredients in a small microwave-safe bowl, stirring with a whisk; microwave at HIGH 1 minute or until hot. Place beans in a 2-cup glass measure; microwave at HIGH 1 minute or until hot.

Combine onions, bell pepper, bacon, apple, and spinach in a large bowl. Add syrup mixture and beans; toss well to combine. Serve immediately. 

Yield: 4 servings, $1.03 per serving, WW points 2  

Pantry Items: Olive oil, cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper

* Singleton Tip:  I made up the dressing and stored it separately.  I cut up all the veggies the first night I ate the salad, and kept what I didn't need for a single serving in handy in zip top bags.  This made day 2, 3, and 4 super easy to throw together.  I did the same with the bacon and just zapped it in the microwave with the beans right before serving.  

** I halved this recipe from the original, and it worked out great.   Also, I added the apples... well worth it!

Cooking Light, MARCH 2003 

Take Out Menu

This is a menu from a local, moderately priced, Italian restaurant around the corner from me.  These prices are for a dinner and an appetizer salad for one person.

Gnocchi with fresh tomato and basil sauce       $13.95

Arugula salad with fontina cheese, tomatoes, olives and balsamic vinaigrette  $7.95

Subtotal Total:  $21.95

      8.5% Tax:  $ 1.87

        15% Tip:  $ 3.30

    Grand total:  $27.12

What can I say...  I LOVE being right!