Recommended New Year Reading: Penzeys Spice Catalog

What do I know from spices? Not much, really. I know salt, pepper, and on those occasional occasions when I roast up a chicken (not long ago, actually, I made one to celebrate our 13th wedding anniversary—huzzah!), I will comb through our spice cabinets in search of a precious vial of Penzeys Poultry Seasoning. This is no easy task—the searching, I mean. Our spice cabinets packed with Penzeys are more crowded than a New York commuter train at rush hour.

What, you don't know Penzeys? People who do cook and are good at it (such as my wife, who learned about Penzeys from her mother; knowledge of Penzeys is apparently passed down from generation to generation, like a family heirloom) swear by the Wisconsin company's spices. Wouldn't cook without them, they say. Far better than the supermarket brands. 

The other day when it was freezing outside, we made hot chocolate from the Penzeys Hot Chocolate Mix. The hot chocolate was tasty, and I enjoyed the directions on the jar too: "Hot Chocolate: Mix 1 rounded TB in each cup of milk. Stir well, simmer gently, sigh contentedly."

As I say, I'm not an expert (God knows) on cooking or spices, but I'll put my knowledge of publishing and magazines up against anyone, and the Penzeys spices catalog is a pleasant read even if you don't know your lemon peel seasoning from your lemon grass, or your paprika from your pasta sprinkle (one of my favorite Penzeys spices, by the way; I use it when I make spaghetti, another low-maintenance dish that I handle tolerably well).

Unlike so many product catalogs, which are just about selling products, the Penzeys catalog has a family feel to it, in large part, I suppose, because a family is behind it. In fact, in the holiday issue, long-time Penzeys fans were sad to learn about the passing of Bill Penzey, Sr., who started the family business in Milwaukee some 25 years ago. We learned about this in notes in the catalog by his son, Bill Penzey, Jr., who now runs the company. "As amazing as this year has been with the birth of our twin boys at the end of July," he writes, "this year has also hit me, and the entire Penzey family, with incredible sadness at the loss of my father Bill Sr. this fall. What a force, so engaged, so creative."

Family is a theme of the Penzey family business. Along with Bill Jr.'s notes, the catalog features short Reader's Digest-like features on Penzeys customers around the country, who share their favorite recipes and talk about their family traditions of cooking and gathering for meals around the table. In addition to its traditional mail order business, Penzeys, headquartered in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, is enjoying a big growth surge, having recently added new retail stores in Santa Rosa, Portland, Seattle, Raleigh, Colorado Springs, and elsewhere.

Here's hoping that amidst its growth, Penzeys hangs onto its family feel. Penzeys Spices, 1-800-741-7787. www.penzeys.com.