Dynamic duo, the Renfroes, are SCS chefs 'extraordinaire'!

By Christine Bordelon
Clarion Herald

It takes much effort to create a successful Alpha faith-exploration program in a parish, and many people work behind the scenes for the 11-week duration.

At St. Catherine of Siena (SCS) Parish in Metairie, now in the middle of its 13th Alpha, Lonnie and Mary K Renfroe are the stalwarts who prepare and serve the main meal every week, unbeknownst to many of the more than 1,000 people who have partaken.

 “They do it selflessly and for the church,” said fellow parishioner Marie Miller.   “They are so involved.”

The Renfroes, now 80 years old, were introduced by their sons-in-laws, who knew they would be perfect for each other. They were married at St. Henry’s in 2003 and have been inseparable ever since. 

Lonnie is legendary for Pasta Lonnie red gravy – named by Lonnie’s grandson Mason Klotz when he tasted it at age 3.

 In fact, it was sampling this sauce that prompted St. Catherine of Siena pastor, Father Tim Hedrick, to invite the Renfroes to cook for Alpha. Since then, the Renfroes also have been the main chefs for the parish’s eight-week Rescue Project and ACTS retreat – sometimes for as many as 180 a night, when Alpha and Rescue coincide. 

“We have so much going on in the parish, we do whatever we have to, and go wherever we are needed,” he said. They cook so often for the parish that there’s freezer space for them in the cafeteria, and Lonnie keeps often-used personal utensils there.

Lonnie’s sauce can be used as a base for many recipes. When artichokes, hearts of palm and olives are added, it becomes a Mediterranean dish. Add meatballs that Mary K makes with beef and pork, and it’s Italian. 

“The thing about the sauce, after it’s cooked, I refrigerate it for three to five days,” he said. “If you don’t, the flavors don’t merge.”

While Lonnie cooks for most of the big parish functions, Mary K creates the menus and places food orders from Sysco Wholesale Food distributor to keep costs down. The menus could include Taco Tuesdays, BBQ and mac and cheese, pork loin with Teriyaki sauce and mashed potatoes, Chicken Parmesan with pasta, but during Lent, they add non-meat cuisine such as shrimp and grits or shrimp Creole, green beans and cornbread, Mary K said. When meatballs and pasta are served, Mary K makes the meatballs with ground beef and pork.

“We try to mix it up,” Mary K said. “They get a gourmet meal every week.”

Family influence
The Renfroes, whose parish service earned them the archdiocesan St. Louis IX Medallion in 2023, enjoy cooking. When Lonnie was SCS Men’s Club president in the 1970s, he  won “Chef of the Year.” 

He said he learned from his Mississippi mother, “an excellent cook,” who prepared country cooking – smothered steak, fried chicken, roast – using fresh ingredients and vegetables. Originally Methodist, Lonnie converted to Catholicism at age 18. He grew up in Mid City by Mandina’s Restaurant and attended S.J. Peters and Warren Easton. He said he also gained tips from a chef at the former Magnolia Plantation Restaurant. 

Many of Lonnie’s recipes were inspired by his deceased wife’s Italian families – Tomasella, Fortunata and Congemi. 

“We used to go to the home of the three aunts, and they would cook red sauce,” Lonnie said. “They taught me a lot.” 

He jazzed it with different spices, such as cloves (“but be careful because it can overpower the gravy”) and sugar, to take away the bitterness of the red paste. 

“I thought about the sweetness of the cloves,” Lonnie said. “With any recipe, you add sugar, salt, pepper as you go.”

Mary K recalled watching her mother and grandmother cook in Alexandria, Louisiana. Being from “the country,” she’s used to cooking with fresh ingredients in dishes like smothered chicken and round steaks. She moved to New Orleans at age 16.

 A team of more than a dozen helps the Renfroes serve the weekly Alpha and Rescue meals. Some prepare the salad, others the sides, while others serve.

“Most of the volunteers have been with us at least for four years,” Lonnie said, adding how they have become a family.

 “We even have a non-Catholic helping out who is the leader of the prep group,” Mary K said. 

“It’s like our ministry; it’s our community,” the Renfroes said. “We sit together at Mass and often have team potluck parties with 90-year-old volunteer Rusty Bangs, who plays guitar and sings.

“We get such joy out of it,” Mary K Renfroe said. “It keeps us going. We get to know a lot of people. It’s a lot better than sitting on the sofa.”

“We love it,” Lonnie said.

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Pasta Lonnie

(This recipe is enough to feed a family of 8-10.)

2 8-ounce cans tomato paste
2 15 ounce cans crushed tomatoes
2 15 ounce cans tomato puree
2 15 ounce cans tomato sauce
1 ½ cans water
3 pounds onions 
6 to 8 cloves garlic 
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon rosemary
1 teaspoon sage
1 teaspoon crushed bay leaves
4 cloves
Salt, pepper, to taste
Parmesan cheese, to taste

First, saute onions until translucent. Add garlic until it browns a little. Add tomato paste next. Stir constantly for about 5-10 minutes. Add tomato crushed, tomato puree, blend and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes. Then add sauce, doing the same. Cook for about 10 minutes.

Then add sugar and cook until the gravy puffs to reduce the acid and gets a little shiny. Stir constantly. Add the water. If a thinner consistency is desired, add more water.

Add in seasoning, stirring to mix. Cook on medium for about an hour, then lower temperature and cook on low for two to three hours, stirring so nothing sticks to the bottom.

Taste gravy occasionally and add seasoning to taste. This gravy is a base for many recipes including meatballs and spaghetti, chicken parmesan, ravioli, lasagna, etc.

Courtesy Lonnie Renfroe, St. Catherine of Siena parishioner, who with his wife, Mary K, cooks for many faith-based programs in the parish. (His grandson Mason Klotz named the pasta when he first tasted it at 3 years old. He’s now 27. Lonnie learned to make red gravy from his deceased wife’s Italian family with a few twists of his own.) 

Shrimp Fettuccini

1 stick butter
1 bunch green onions
1 pound raw shrimp (peeled)
Garlic (to taste)
Salt, pepper (to taste)
Cayenne pepper (to taste)
1 (10-ounce pack) vermicelli
½-1 cup grated parmesan cheese
Pasta

Melt butter in skillet. Chop and saute green onions, tops included. Add shrimp and saute until pink. Add seasons, cheese and stir. 

Boil pasta, add to skillet, stir and serve.

Recipe provided by Lonnie Renfroe

Shrimp Creole

Ingredients
2 large onions
2 stalks celery
2 large green peppers
1 8oz can tomato paste
1 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes
2 15-ounce cans tomato sauce
Salt, pepper to taste
1-2 teaspoons Creole seasoning
1 pound shrimp, peeled and drained
Rice, cooked

Sauté onions, celery, green peppers, then add tomato paste. Sauté for about 10 minutes, but don’t let it burn.

Add crushed tomatoes, all the tomato sauce and salt and pepper to taste. Add the Creole seasoning. Slow cook for 1 to 2 hours. Then add peeled drained shrimp and cook until shrimp are pink and floating. Shrimp will add liquid. 

Let it cool. Serve over rice. 

Mary K Renfroe, a St. Catherine of Siena parishioner, created this recipe.