Penne with Tomato, Cream, & Five Cheeses

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I love Food52.com! The best things I make are the result of recipes I find on this site.  When I came across the featured recipe for Al Forno's Penne with Tomato, Cream, & Five Cheeses, I knew I had to try it (and I am so glad that I did!).

Ooey, gooey, and cheesy!

Al Forno is a restaurant in Providence, Rhode Island, owned and operated by Johanne Killeen and George Germon.  Germon, in fact, introduced the technique of grilling pizza to the United States.  Fire-grilled pizza is an ingenious idea, as is the technique used at Al Forno for making baked pasta.  It's quick, easy, and delicious...and did I mention quick?

While the link above will lead you to where I found the recipe, I've laid it out in a simpler format (with my modifications in italics).

Ingredients:
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup chopped canned tomatoes (I didn't strain the tomatoes)
1/2 cup freshly grated pecorino Romano cheese (1 1/2 ounces)
1/2 cup coarsely shredded Fontina cheese (1 1/2 ounces) (I couldn't find Fontina, so I used Muenster)
1/4 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese (1 1/2 ounces) (I used 1/2 cup)
2 tablespoons ricotta cheese (I used 3 tablespoons)
1/4 pound thinly sliced fresh mozzarella cheese
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for pasta water
6 fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
1 pound penne rigate or conchiglie rigate
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, sliced thinly 

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 500  degrees
-Mix all ingredients (except pasta and and butter) in a large bowl (this is called a slurry) 
-Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil
-Boil penne for 4 minutes
-Strain penne
-Mix penne into slurry
-Spoon pasta/slurry mixture into a large, shallow casserole dish (once in the dish, the pasta should be no more than 1" to 1.5" deep.  Use more than one casserole dish if necessary)
-Scatter butter slices on top of pasta
-Bake for 10 minutes
-Enjoy! :)



This recipe can be modified in many different ways.  What would you add or change to mix this dish up a bit?