Penzeys ONE - merged topic

[Della]

I got my free copy in the mail the other day. I don't think I will subscribe - the recipes aren't really that interesting to me and I didn't think the layout was that great. My impression is that they are trying to do something "everyone" can cook - very simple and easy to make recipes. But I didn't see even one that I would want to make myself.

I love their spices though!

[Shannon_Elise]

Got my free copy too. A lot of the recipes are actually from old catalogues, I recognize them from one day when I worked there, got bored, and organized old copies of the catalogue. Am I the only one who thinks it looks extremely jaundice?

Shannon

[cjsadler]

I got a free copy of this the other day. Yikes! The pictures instantly reminded me of the Gallery of Regrettable Food. I guess the style is supposed to be tongue-in-cheek, but the food looks very unappetizing IMHO.

[patty]

I got a free copy of this the other day.  Yikes! The pictures instantly reminded me of the Gallery of Regrettable Food.  I guess the style is supposed to be tongue-in-cheek, but the food looks very unappetizing IMHO.

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Anyone have any new thoughts to add after reading more edditions of the magazine? The other branch of the family is thinking about doing some sort of publication for our 50 year anniversary. It would be helpful to us know whether you have come around to liking Penzeys One or not. Ideas of what you would like to really see in a publication or cookbook.

[misstenacity]

No new thoughts here, but its my first time posting in this thread. I concur with many of the previous posters who mentioned the difficult to take formatting and the atrocious photos.

The photos of the food I thought were the worst part of the layout of the magazine - they were bad enough to make me wonder if there was indeed some kind of intentional styling happening to make the food look blurry/waxy/fuzzy/unreal. Oh, and the recipes? Yeah, I second the "eh, not for me" vote. Perhaps for my former high school classmate who never left the Midwest and wants to cook something for their family instead of going out to Perkin's. But definitely not for me.

Penzey's, I LOVE your spices. Don't ever change that. But don't look for a subscription to One from me.

Andrea

http://tenacity.net

[repoman]

I, like most people posting, love their spices. Their corporate headquarters and main factory store are only a few miles from my house so as you can imagine, I am there a lot. My collection of spices, herbs, and blends is nothing short of obnoxious. We received a subscription to Penzey’s One for Christmas. I have been thoroughly disappointed in the magazine, though not as much had I actually paid for it. It is definitely for the super novice cook and really tends to focus on the “Taste of Home” crowd (as mentioned in an earlier post). That kind of cooking is very prevelant in Wisconsin (the headquarters of both Penzeys and Taste of Home) and I think that may be their focus. They are definitely not trying to appeal to the Bon Appetit/Gourmet/Food and Wine crowd, which I would consider myself in.

I think it is good that it is getting people to try different spices but the recipes are either super bland sounding or overly simplistic (i.e. you could have made them up yourself by looking in your spice cabinet). There are tons of recipes submitted by Penzey’s customers that just aren’t in line with what I like to eat…things like tuna casserole, deviled eggs, etc. They have had some features that are ok, but when someone who cooks a lot like myself looks at some of the recipes you realize that what you are about to make isn’t going to taste very good just by the technique and ingredient list.

They really didn’t tell people what was going to be in the magazine before it was released, so I am sure I am not the only one who was disappointed. If I wanted a recipe for spicy salmon loaf submitted by Sally Housewife of Omaha, Nebraska I’d read Good Housekeeping.

[kristin_71]

I gave my mom a two year subscription and she really likes it and I do too. There are times when I like it more than others. The objective is not to appeal to the Food and Wine crowd ( mom has a subscription to F &W too) but more to the average everyday cook who wouldn't go out and spend alot of money on dinner. Some of the dishes do not appeal to me, and some issues there are things more appealing than others. On the other hand I love Food and Wine and occasionally I will get Bon Appetite and Gourmet so there is never a shortage of reciepes around to pick from. Its just that some nights I like to go easy, but still get a good dinner on the table and it is good for that. I have to add that I love the spices too, like everyone else here and have a pantry shelf dedicated just to Penzys alone!

[Dieck]

I love Penzeys products and have a whole shelf full of them.

I received a copy of the magazine and thought it looked like a high school class project, not something you'd pay money for. Granted, I have a journalism degree and worked for 12 years in advertising, so I notice things like bad grammar and layout more than the average reader. But it did not look like a professional journalist could have worked on that publication. After looking at the publication, my impression of the company did go down a notch.