I didn’t prepare anything for Tyler Florence Fridays this week.

But my boyfriend did.

He didn’t want to do any writing, just the making part and taking the picture**.

Tyler’s Watermelon Gazpacho with Chiles and Feta Cheese

Don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned it here before, but my boyfriend is a pretty amazing cook. Nothing scares him in the kitchen, he will try anything and we’ve had some fantastic meals at home thanks to him.  In the past, he’s actually picked a few of Tyler’s recipes at random from foodnetwork.com and I just recently realized this as I was going through my year 2005 printed recipe binder (that was a BIG year for him in the kitchen). I never made the connection since they were “the boyfriend’s recipes” but I had to smile when Mr. Florence’s name was appearing beneath quite a few of my most favorite homemade meals. Like this one.

Anyway, Tyler’s Watermelon Gazpacho with Chiles and Feta Cheese happened to catch my man’s eye while checking out tylerflorence.com last week. He took one look and said “I’m making it.” I thought to myself, of all of Tyler’s dishes he could’ve seen… Gazpacho? Gazpacho to me = ACK!  Of course, I wasn’t going to stand in his way. We headed out to the farmer’s markets for all the things he’d need.

He seemed to have an easy time making this,  the soup is made entirely in the blender without too much prep work.

The taste test? He loved it.

And me? I was prepared to hate it. I ended up loving it too.

His notes and thoughts:
*simple
*easy
*the flavor of the feta accented the softer flavors of the watermelon and tomatoes
*watermelon was good in this as it added a sweetness which he liked better compared to other gazpachos he’s had
*would mince up the cucumber a little less, or add some diced cucumber so it had a bit more texture
*would not buy a 7 pound watermelon again just for this recipe (my note: LOL, we had watermelon FOR DAYS)
*he would make this again

The recipe can be found by starting here on Tyler Florence.com. Just select the “Soup” button and scroll down until you see the Gazpacho – it’s the perfect summer recipe.  Happy Blending!

Tyler’s Watermelon Gazpacho with Chiles and Feta Cheese marks my sixteenth post (can I still say “my”?) for Tyler Florence Fridays, a group with the freedom to make any recipe of Tyler’s that they choose and then share their experiences every Friday. Thanks to my boyfriend for stepping in this week. It was fun having someone else do the work, but I’ll be back next Friday with my own creation.  I really would like to thank everyone for the nice comments and emails I’ve gotten recently, just want you to know it meant a lot and made me smile. Hope you all have a great weekend!

**Oooohhh, the boyfriend’s camera makes me extremely jealous. A Canon EOS 5D Mark II Digital SLR… I’m still trying to get my paws on this baby to test it out, but have not been successful as he won’t let me near it!!