Stephens is passionate about cooking
John E. Stephens serves many roles in his day-to-day life, including that of a pastor, funeral home owner/embalmer/director, County Coroner, and family man.
He is married to Cindy McLain Stephens, and they have two children, Misty Baker and Dusty Stephens, along with four grandchildren, Britt, Jagger, Anistyn, and John Albert.
He embarked on his journey in the ministry in 1984 and shortly after found his calling at the funeral home. His family is deeply involved in his funeral home business, with his daughter and her husband, Robert, as well as his son and his wife, Cayla, all working there.
In 2000, John and Cindy purchased the funeral home on Pecan Avenue, now known as John E. Stephens Chapel. He also serves as the pastor at North Calvary Baptist Church and has been Neshoba County Coroner since 2015. He is not seeking re-election, opting to devote more time to the families he serves through his funeral home.
Cooking is another passion that runs deep in his life. He and his son Dusty often share the responsibility of grilling outdoors.
“Both my grandmothers and my mother were fantastic cooks,” he said. “I would help them and just always liked to cook.”
Biscuits used to be his culinary challenge, but he persevered and can now make them like a pro. Family gatherings or breakfast at home often involve John being nominated to make the biscuits.
"I always said if I was not a funeral director, I would probably open a restaurant,” he said.
He enjoys grilling steaks, pork chops, pork steaks, and barbecued chicken. However, his pecan pies are the most requested dish by his family. Fresh vegetables like corn, peas, and new potatoes in the spring are staples on his menu as well.
“My favorite things to cook are biscuits and steak in gravy,” he said. “I like seeing people enjoy what I cook after it’s done.” He is known for cooking three times the amount of food needed, a habit he inherited from his mother.
“I do most of the cooking in the family by choice,” he said. “Cindy is a great cook as well, but I do it because I enjoy it.” His wife specializes in frying chicken and loves collecting and sharing recipes, even if she doesn't always have the chance to cook them herself.
In a humorous incident recently, a friend brought him collard greens which he planned to cook outside in a big pot, but he got busy and ended up burning them. The next time, his friend brought him already-cooked collard greens, sparing him from any more cooking mishaps.
His love for cooking with his family is one of his many joys.
PECAN PIE
Deep Dish Pie Shell
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 Tbsp flour
1 cup light karo syrup
2 tbsp butter (melted)
1 tsp vanilla flavoring
Stir all together and mix in 1 ½ cups of pecans, pour in pie shell. Bake 60-70 mins at 350 degrees. Cover the last 10 mins with foil.
BISCUITS
**Note-Amount of ingredients vary depending on how many biscuits you want.
1 ½ cups self-rising flour (I use White Lily)
4 tbsp butter flavored Crisco (melted)
buttermilk to thoroughly mix (I never measure)
Stir all together. Scoop out mixture with hand, arrange in pan. Melt 2 tbsp butter and spread on top. If you want to make them pretty, smooth with a spoon. Bake at 450 degrees until golden brown.
STEAK IN GRAVY
Tenderized Round Steak (salt and peppered)
Roll in flour, fry, and place in crock pot. Pour excess frying oil out of skillet, leaving about 2 tbsp. sprinkle in flour and brown, adding water to desired thickness. Add 1 can cream of mushroom condensed soup and pour over steak. Cook in crock pot until time to eat (the longer it cooks the more tender the steak).
SWEET POTATO PIE
3-3 ½ cups mashed sweet potatoes
1 ½ cups sugar
1 stick butter (melted)
3 eggs
1 ½ tsp vanilla flavoring
1 can Eagle brand sweetened condensed milk
Mix all together and put into (2) 9-inch pie shells. Bake for 10 minutes at 425 degrees then turn to 350 degrees and bake 30 minutes.
FAVORITE BEDTIME SNACK
2 spoons of Jif Peanut Butter, creamy or crunchy
2 spoons of Jelly, I prefer grape
Mix well and spread on crackers, drink with a glass of cold milk.