Preferring to cook "from scratch" while raising her family of six, "Miss Mary" Usner has been on a cooking quest of quality for over forty years. She credits her paternal grandmother and mother for her love and appreciation of quality confections. Among her fondest memories is the array of German cookies and sweets her grandmother prepared every holiday season, and her mother's friends' anticipation of the annual gift of pralines for Christmas.

Her granola recipe, developed over the past fifteen years, has evolved to match her exacting standards of taste and food value. Mary, born and reared in San Antonio, Texas, moved to Lafayette, Louisiana in 1954 with her husband, Larry Usner, a professional geologist from New Orleans.

Pronounced "praw-leen", the word comes from the old French for "burnt almond." Food historians tell us that the French invented the first pralines around 1650. They are named in the honor of the Duke of Plessis-Pralin who was commander of the French Army under Kings Louis XII and XIV. The original praline was a hard paste made by mixing ground nuts with boiling syrup. The cooks and chefs of early 19th century New Orleans are credited with the development of the modern-day praline. It is generally cookie-sized and made with butter, brown sugar and pecans.