Alison Rocks the Pasta

Good cooks and good looks run in the family.

Take my cousin Alison (shown at left in the photo above). She’s a goddess, natch.

She does social work down in Baltimore at a school. She’s married to John and has an amazingly adorable daughter, Olivia, who looks JUST LIKE her mom.

Alison is one of the sweetest people I’ve ever known. She loves to help others. She has amazing style and exquisite taste, which is why I know you'll want to learn her secrets to good eats.

Alison’s totally like my third sister. I miss her so much! We’re only a year apart. When we were kids, we were inseparable. She’d sleep over all the time. We’d hang. Go swimming. Try on clothes. Talk about boys. You know, usual girl stuff.

Thankfully, as adults we keep in touch pretty regularly. (Although it should be more, Alison. We can do better!) And, being the awesome cuz that she is, Alison typed up her Roasted Eggplant, Cherry Tomatoes and Penne recipe for my rockin’ blog, which prompts me to strongly encourage her, my other cousins and my darling sisters to send me your recipes! Come on. You know you want to. I have millions of fans out there dying to know what you cook.

So here’s her recipe. Alison comes up with awesome pasta dishes. She takes her pasta very seriously. I’m sure if she lived near me, we would host dozens of dinner parties together and be fabulous. And our husbands would clean up.

In the spirit of Alison, Mangia!

Roasted Eggplant, Cherry Tomatoes and Penne
Alison Sullivan

2 eggplants, quartered
2 cups whole cherry tomatoes (take a knife and puncture tiny holes in them so they don't explode while cooking)
Olive oil
Handful of basil
Penne or any type of pasta would do
Romano cheese

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Toss the veggies with olive oil, salt and pepper and place them on a baking sheet. Roast for 30 minutes. While the eggplant and tomatoes are roasting in the oven, boil water for the pasta. Once the water is boiling, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain. Add all the veggies to the pasta along with more olive oil until glistening. Add the basil, cheese, and salt and pepper to taste. You can serve this warm or at room temperature.