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macaroni with four cheeses

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Here is a simple and classic baked pasta dish -- macaroni and cheese, but if you use excellent imported Italian dry pasta, and excellent cheeses, you now have an elegant classic.

>>note: we might not have an average appetite level, but when we make this dish we find it serves six to eight people quite well.

for the sauce:

one-half cup of grated parmesan
four ounces of gorgonzola
four ounces of fontina (Italian Val d'Aosta)
four ounces of emmenthal or gruyere
three tablespoons of butter

for the pasta:

one pound macaroni

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Bring 4-5 quarts of cold water to a raging boil. Add a couple tablespoons of salt. Add the pasta, stirring it well to get it separated and mixed. Cook to barely al dente. When the pasta is properly done, drain it.

Use one tablespoon of butter on the bottom of a 9 inch by 13 inch baking dish. Cut all the cheeses (but the parmesan) into little cubes. (The gorgonzola can be tricky. If it is fresh and warm, you really can't cut or crumble it. If it is chilled, or is slightly aged, you can crumble it well).

Distribute about a fourth of the cubes of fontina and gruyere on the bottom of the baking dish. Put the drained pasta into the dish. Now distribute the remaining fontina, gruyere and gorgonzola over and around the pasta, as evenly as possible. You can stir the pasta around, with a slotted spoon, to get the cheeses mixed well.

Bake in the oven for ten minutes. The cheeses should be thoroughly melted around the pasta. Take out of the oven, sprinkle the parmesan over the pasta and cheese, add the last two tablespoons of butter, and put the dish under a broiler for two minutes.