Last modified: Wednesday, June 17, 2009 2:20 AM EDT Amy McCoy makes her Pancetta, Asparagus and Sundried Tomato Sandwich, also pictured below. (Staff photos by Martin Gavin) Try a bite, Mr. Obama BY ANGELINA GENNIS FOR THE SUN CHRONICLE Rehoboth resident Amy McCoy recently took the grand prize in RegionalBest.com's Asparagus Lovers Unite for Obama! recipe contest. More than 100 recipes were submitted from across the country, but none could beat McCoy's Pancetta, Asparagus and Sundried Tomato Sandwich, which she created entirely from local ingredients.RegionalBest.com describes itself as "an online food marketplace that supports small food artisans, farmers and sustainable agriculture." They got the idea for this contest when they heard that asparagus was one of President Obama's least favorite vegetables. As grand prize winner, McCoy's recipe will be sent to the White House chef to prepare for the president. She is also receiving $1,000 worth of foods from RegionalBest.com's online marketplace, including shipments of Peasant Bakers Baklava from Jamaica Plain and LaCense All Natural Grass-fed Beef from Montana. McCoy originally made the sandwich for herself and her husband in an attempt to be creative with a small crop of asparagus from their garden. "It's a riff on a BLT," said McCoy, who combined onion focaccia bread from Iggy's of Cambridge, mozzarella cheese from Narragansett Creamery in Rhode Island, pancetta from the local deli, her own sundried tomato mayonnaise and home-grown asparagus to create the sandwich. "We loved Amy's recipe because it was great tasting, it was easy to make, seasonal and she incorporated fresh, local ingredients," said Caragh Whalen, Co-Founder of RegionalBest.Com. "It was just delicious!" McCoy is in the habit of creating and sharing new recipes. In fact, she stopped work as a television producer to do just that. She is co-chair of the Rhode Island chapter of Slow Food International, an organization that encourages local food traditions and understanding of how one's food choices can affect others. She also runs a blog where she shares tips and recipes to make eating quality food affordable. "It's about buying just what I need and balancing out what the priorities are in my food budget" said McCoy. The success of her blog led McCoy to sign a book deal with Andrew McMeel Publishing for a cookbook of a similar concept, set to come out next spring. "Each day is dedicated to cooking, developing recipes and editing my manuscript" said McCoy of the book, currently under the working title "Poor Girl Gourmet," named for her blog. The book will include meals for a family of four that cost under $15 to prepare and will include photographs taken by McCoy herself. She followed the $15 rule when making her prize-winning sandwich, four of which cost only $11.37 to make. "I'm currently working on a potato and mushroom hash," said McCoy, who writes recipes for entrees, soups, salads and desserts. Another current project: Sweet corn and basil ice cream. McCoy and her husband keep a garden and chicken pen, both of which, she said, will be relied upon for many of the ingredients used in her recipes. She plans to continue writing her blog and is already coming up with ideas for a second cookbook. Amy McCoy's blog can be found at poorgirlgourmet.blogspot.com