Penne with Four Cheeses

Yesterday for lunch I FINALLY tried a recipe my aunt gave me. She got it from The Barefoot Contessa and passed it on to me (about 3 years ago.) The reason I hadn’t made it was because I generally try to eat healthy, and when a recipe starts with 2 cups of heavy cream, I say, “Yikes!” and don’t think of it again. But this has been one that stayed at the back of my brain, and I just broke down and made it. I halved the recipe (1 cup of cream looks a lot healthier than 2) with the intention of having one portion yesterday and saving one for today. Brett is not a big pasta guy (especially when it comes to cream sauces) so this was a treat just for me. The recipe calls for 5 cheeses: mozzarella, ricotta, fontina, romano, and gorgonzola. I am not a gorgonzola fan so I just left that out and that’s why mine is only 4 cheese penne. I had some parmesan on hand and rather than buy romano, I just substituted that. The fontina was on the expensive side, and I was leery buying it because I had never tried it before. When I opened it up, I was even more scared because it had that “stinky feet” smell to it. I mustered up my courage and tried a bite, and it was actually ok, so onward with the recipe! I was worried that the pasta was underdone or that it would get too crunchy in the scorching hot 500 degree oven, but it all turned out perfectly “al dente.” I sat down to eat and watch Days of our Lives (an addiction I can thank this same aunt for) and enjoyed an incredibly rich, creamy, ooey, gooey, cheesy meal. Needless to say, it was one of those lunches where you don’t think you can move afterward, but then you feel like you should probably go exercise because your pants suddenly feel really tight. I’ll eat it again today (hopefully the leftovers will heat up ok) but I may have to wait another 3 years before I overindulge in this one again.