Featured in the September/October 1989 issue of Domain Magazine

Christina Patoski and Johnny Reno's Saganaki Tourkolimano

"I had this dish on Tourkolimano Bay," Patoski says. "After hearing me describe it, several years later my mom, who is really a great cook, came up with the recipe."

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This may be Fort Worth's most multimedia household. Christina Patoski is a journalist who also works in film and video production and who is currently preparing a book of her color photography. Her husband, John Reno, the saxophonist and guiding light of the nationally popular group Johnny Reno, is also breaking into an acting career. As might be expected, Patoski and Reno don't always get dinner at home. And in the worlds of music and video, the fare is not always cordon bleu. "When I'm touring with the band, we have a rule," says Reno. "Never eat on an empty stomach, because then you'll eat anything."

A first-generation American, Patoski credits her Greek mother with this thoroughly Mediterranean -- and novel -- combination of shrimp and feta cheese; it's an on-the-money main course that begs to be served over pasta. "I had this dish on Tourkolimano Bay," Patoski says. "After hearing me describe it, several years later my mom, who is really a great cook, came up with the recipe." Even in the high-tech world of mass communications, Mom-style rules the kitchen.

Saganaki Tourkolimano

Serves 6

1 carrot
1 small onion
1 small green pepper
4 stalks celery, with leaves
1 stick butter (8 tablespoons)
30 shrimp, peeled
1/3 cup white wine
3 ripe medium tomatoes (or 1 sixteen-ounce can whole tomatoes without juice), chopped
1 teaspoon oregano
Salt and pepper, to taste
6 ounces feta cheese (the kind that crumbles well)
4 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated

Chop carrot, onion, green pepper, and celery in food processor until fine. In medium-sized pan, sauté mixture in 4 tablespoons butter until onion is golden. Remove vegetables. Add remaining butter to same pan. When butter bubbles, add shrimp, and stir for 2 to 3 minutes. Add wine, and cook on medium heat for 1 minute.

Return vegetables to pan, along with tomatoes, oregano, salt, and pepper. When liquid in pan is almost gone, move mixture to ovenproof dish. Crumble feta on top, then sprinkle on Parmesan. Bake at 450 to 500 degrees for 5 minutes or until cheese begins to brown. Serve on bed of pasta.

Note: Reheats well. In fact, it's better the next day.

Texas Home Cooks

Favorite recipes from some of Texas' best amateur chefs.

Full story: Specialty of the House II
Also Featured:
Ceviche
Praline Pecans
Pollo Picante
Pizza
Creole Oysters
Curried Broccoli Soup
Spaghetti and Meatballs

Meat & Dairy
butter
30 shrimp
6 ounces feta cheese
4 ounces Parmesan cheese

Produce
1 carrot
1 small onion
1 small green pepper
4 stalks celery, with leaves
3 ripe medium tomatoes
(or 16-ounce can whole tomatoes)

Grocery
16-ounce can whole tomatoes (or 3 fresh tomatoes)
oregano
Salt
pepper

Liquor Store
white wine

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