Penne with Five Cheeses

Here's another good one from Ina Garten - this was the winner for my Bunko night, I was a little nervous how it would turn out since I didn't have time to test it before serving it, but I couldn't have been happier with how it tasted. I tweaked it just a touch, but it was really very good. All those cheeses can be a little pricey, so it's definitely a "special occasion" dish, but it is really quite good.

Penne with Five Cheeses

Kosher salt for pasta water
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup crushed tomatoes in thick tomato puree (I doubled this - perhaps even a bit more)
1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano (1 1/2 ounces)
1/2 cup shredded imported Italian fontina (1 1/2 ounces)
1/4 cup crumbled Italian Gorgonzola (1 1/2 ounces) (I used Parmesan Reggiano instead - had some friends who don't care for it)
2 tablespoons ricotta cheese
1/4 pound fresh mozzarella, sliced
6 fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 pound imported penne rigate pasta
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
Bring 5 quarts of salted water to a boil in a stockpot.

Combine all the ingredients except the penne and butter in a large mixing bowl (I also added about 1 tsp red pepper flakes and two garlic cloves, crushed). Mix well. Drop the penne into the boiling water and parboil for 4 minutes. Drain well in a colander and add to the ingredients in the mixing bowl, tossing to combine. Divide the pasta mixture among 6 shallow ceramic gratin dishes (1 1/2 to 2 cup capacity) (I used a 9x13" pan). Dot with the butter and bake until bubbly and brown on top, 7 to 10 minutes.