Baked Pasta with Fontina and Mascarpone and Garlic Breadcrumbs

Nothing can be better than pasta and cheese. This is another take off on the classic mac and cheese. I used penne instead of macaroni. Also, I really liked the mac and cheese that I made a few weeks ago with fontina cheese, so when I saw this recipe for pasta with fontina, I knew I had to make it.

I made a few adaptations to the original recipe from the November 2006 issue of Cooking Light. I didn't have enough fontina cheese due to not being the one who did the grocery shopping this weekend. Instead, I made up the difference with Parmesan cheese. Also, I added some ham to the pasta mixture.

1 pound uncooked penne
1/4 cup flour
3 cups of milk (I used skim as recommended and it worked out)
2 cups shredded fontina cheese (I only had 1 cup of fontina and used Parmesan to make up the difference)
1/4 cup mascarpone cheese
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup of ham, chopped into small pieces (Note, the recipe can be made without the ham for a vegetarian option)
3 slices of white bread
1 tablespoon butter
1 small minced glove of garlic

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. Preheat the oven to 350F.
3. Combine flour and milk in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir often. Remove from heat; add cheeses and stir until smooth. Add in the salt and pepper. Add cooked pasta, stirring until coated. At this point, I added the small chopped pieces of ham.
4. Tear bread into small pieces. Place in a food processor and and pulse into fine bread crumbs.
5. Melt butter in a small saucepan. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds. Remove from heat and stir in breadcrumbs until well combined. Sprinkle crumbs evenly over pasta.
   
6. Place in oven and bake for 25 minutes.