Fortenberry began baking sweet treats
Mary Fortenberry inherited a love for cooking from her mother at an early age.
“When you walked in my mother’s kitchen there was always something prepared for somebody,” she said. “She let me do a lot of the sweets and when I was about 12 years old, I started baking pies, cakes, and cookies.”
Mary said she really delved into the art of cooking when she started having children.
She grew up in Starkville before moving to Philadelphia alongside her husband, Herman Fortenberry. They were married for 52 years before his passing in 2020.
Together they had Ken, who’s married to Leslie with children Chandler and Cayla, and Marsha, whose three children are Summar, Chloe, and Brody.
The family grew further with Summar marrying Seth Irons and having Mackenzie and Fletcher, while Chloe married Dean Heffernan.
Mary and Herman found joy in watching horse races at the Neshoba County Fair, cheering on their grandchildren in ballgames, and attending church at Sardis Baptist.
Even after retiring from a 35-year career in the finance and banking industry, Mary has remained active, shuttling between school runs and various activities, from soccer and baseball to dancing and pageants with her great-grandchildren.
“I don’t sit down,” she said with a laugh.
She loves making Southern comfort food and showcasing her culinary ability at the Fair with delicious jambalaya during the family’s “Jambalaya Nights”.
While Chloe and Summar both love Mary’s chicken salad, Ken can't resist her chocolate oatmeal cookies. Marsha's favorite is her broccoli salad, but her baked potato salad is what Mary considers her best.
Thanksgiving at her home is a grand affair, featuring sweet potato casserole, creamed corn, butter beans, green bean casserole, cream potatoes, turnip greens, homemade rolls, ham, and turkey.
Although their weekly Sunday family feasts have scaled back to monthly gatherings, Mary cherishes the time spent with her family.
“We love to be together,” she said. “Preparing food, seeing them enjoy it, and getting to be around them is what I most enjoy.”
In Mary’s kitchen, her trusty mixer takes center stage for sweet-making sessions, and her advice to fellow cooks is to always be prepared.
“Make a list and check it off,” she said. “I make a list of what we are having when the kids are coming over, prepare everything I can the day before, and then check it off my list at different times, that way I don’t get behind.”
Mary’s love for cooking and being surrounded by family is what she holds most dear.
PRALINES
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup heavy whipping cream
Put in microwave for 10 minutes or 10 minutes and 25 seconds.
If they act like not mixing to get hard cook a few seconds longer.
Take out and stir 3-4 times.
Add one stick sliced butter.
Stir till butter mixes in good.
1 ½ cups pecans.
Drop with a spoon on wax paper.
TURKEY
½ stick salted butter, softened
One 12-pound turkey, completely thawed and all giblets removed
2 tbsp. salt
2 tsp. pepper
2 stalks celery, cut in lengths to fit turkey cavity
1 medium sweet onion, such as Vidalia, cut in half
1 large carrot, cut in lengths to fit the turkey cavity
2 cups boiling water
Adjust the oven racks so the covered roasting pan fit easily inside.
Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
Rub the butter on the outside and in the cavity of the turkey.
Sprinkle the salt and pepper on the inside and outside of the turkey.
Put the celery, onion, and carrot in the cavity.
Place the turkey, breast side up, in a large roasting pan.
Pour the boiling water into the pan.
Cover with a tight-fitting lid and put the pan in oven.
Start a timer when the oven temperature returns to 500 degrees.
Bake for exactly 1 hour and turn off the oven.
Do not open the oven door!
Leave the turkey in the oven until the oven completely cools; this may take 4 to 6 hours.
Reserve the pan juices and refrigerate the turkey if it will not be served soon after roasting.
SWEET POTATO
CASSEROLE
3 cups cooked mashed potatoes
1 cup sugar
½ cup oleo
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
½ cup raisins (optional)
Mix all ingredients and pour into casserole.
Topping:
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
¼ cup oleo
½ cup flour
Mix well. Spread over potatoes. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.