Jerry Countouris was a regular guest on At Home over the years, sharing some of the delicious recipes he cooked at Drew’s Family Restaurant. Often his recipes were inspired by his family’s Greek heritage and love of good food!
In this show from 2012, Jerry stops by to prepare two delicious soups. First, a heart tomato and lima bean soup, packed with onions, garlic, and tasty vegetables. Then, he makes a super thick and creamy potato soup with cheese and bacon.
To go with the soup, they have some tasty “feta bruschetta,” and easy cornbread. Delicious!
Lima Bean and Tomato Soup
This hearty soup is completely vegetarian, and it's packed with delicious flavors.
Ingredients
- 1 large onion, diced
- 8 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
- 6 ribs celery, chopped
- 1 lb dry lima beans
- 2 cans diced tomatoes (28 oz each, about 6 cups)
- 1 quart vegetable stock (4 cups)
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 Tbs salt
- 1 Tbs pepper
Instructions
- In a big pot over medium-high heat, saute garlic in olive oil until fragrant but not burned, about 1-2 minutes. Add onions, celery, and carrots, and saute until soft, about 10 minutes.
- Add dry beans and saute with the vegetables. After 5 minutes add the vegetable stock and diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce down to a simmer.
- Let simmer for an hour and a half or until beans are soft. It takes a little while, but it's worth it. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with a drizzle of olive oil when serving. Makes 8 servings. Enjoy!
- Note: You can substitute navy beans and/or barley for the lima beans.
Cream of Potato Soup with Cheddar and Bacon Bits
This creamy soup is rich, heart, and delicious!
Ingredients
- 1/2 onion, finely diced
- 5 medium-large potatoes, peeled and cut into small chunks
- 4 oz chicken or vegetable broth base dissolved in 1 quart (4 cups) of hot water
- 1/2 gallon whole milk
- 1 cup flour
- 2 cups grated cheddar cheese
- 1 cup real bacon bits
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp white or black pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter (3/4 cup)
Instructions
- Heat ½ gallon milk in a pot over medium heat, almost to a boil. In another larger pot take ¼ stick butter and saute onions until clarified then add potatoes and dissolved base and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Simmer 10-20 minutes until potatoes are cooked and tender when poked with a fork.
- In a 3rd pot over medium high heat, melt remaining 1 stick butter and stir int flour, creating a roux. Once stock is boiling add heated milk and bring combined contents to high heat. Then whisk in the roux to thicken the boiling milk and broth.
- Once thickened, stir in cheddar cheese, bacon bits, pepper, salt, and granulated garlic. Cook and stir until well combined. Makes 8 to 10 servings. Enjoy!
Feta Bruschetta
This Italian and Greek-inspired dish makes an appetizer or side.
Ingredients
- 1 or 2 medium-sized loaves of crusty white bakery bread (Italian or even a baguette will work)
- extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- 3 cups Roma or other ripe fresh tomatoes, chopped
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves, torn or cut into small pieces
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 8 oz crumbled feta cheese
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Slice bread into 1/4-1/2 inch thick slices. Brush lightly with olive oil. Place slices on an ungreased cookie sheet and toast for 10 minutes, removing and flipping the slices over halfway through. (Each oven is different, but you want to toast until the bread is crispy, but not browned. Don't let it burn!)
- Chop tomatoes into small pieces, removing cores and stems. Drain excess juice from chopped tomatoes by gently pressing them in a colander. Transfer to a clean bowl, and toss tomatoes with salt, pepper, oregano, basil, and feta.
- Let bread cool until it's safe to touch. Rub bread with peeled garlic cloves. The dry bread should cause the garlic break down and smear onto the bread, flavoring it. Increase oven heat to 350
- Put bread back on cookie sheet and top with spoonfuls of the tomato mixture. Return to oven and toast at 350 degrees for 5-10 minutes, until tomatoes start to wilt and cheese starts to melt. Remove and serve immediately. (Depending on the size of your bread and tomatoes, it will make a lot!) Enjoy!
Golden Fluffy Cornbread
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 cup milk
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/4 cups yellow, white or blue cornmeal
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square pan or 9-inch round cake pan with the cooking spray.
- In a 1 quart saucepan, heat the butter over low heat until melted.
- In a large bowl, beat the melted butter, milk and egg with a fork or wire whisk until well mixed. Add the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt all at once; stir just until the flour is moistened (batter will be lumpy). Pour batter into the pan; use a rubber spatula to scrape batter from bowl. Spread batter evenly in pan and smooth top of batter.
- Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm. Makes 12 servings. Enjoy!
Transcript
The transcript from this program is not available.
This guest was always bringing great recipes and some good tips. I now know that beans don’t have to be soaked before adding to soup! It’s sad to learn that Drew’s Restaurant has just recently closed. Jerry was a gem of Arlene’s special guests.
Yes, we were sad to hear that Drew’s just closed. But we’re thankful to have captured some of these tasty recipes on TV!
Personally, I still prefer to soak beans because it makes them cook faster, but it is nice to know that you don’t have to for Jerry’s soup recipe.