Baked Ziti (Ziti Al Forno) w/ Ragu (Meat)

Italians have a natural gift of taking the most mundane tasks of life and creating an almost convivial atmosphere and I believe this is at the heart and soul of La Dolci Vita. Take for instance my Neapolitan Dad's musical pasta. He would always grab one tube of pasta out of the box before dumping the rest into the water. Then he would hold it to his lips just so....... and blow. He could toot out an entire contata while the pasta was boiling away.  I can still see him walking around the house tooting out The Drinking Song from Verdi's La Traviata and me trailing behind him belting out, "Godiamo, la tazza la tazza!" as we waited for the rest of the pasta to cook. I still love to listen to music, sing, and even dance while I cook to this day. Thank you Daddy for giving me the gift of living La Dolci Vita!
Here is one of my favorite childhood pasta dishes which we ate every week for lunch using the left over Ragu sauce from Saturday.
 Ingredients
6 cups of  Ragu Sauce (Meat sauce with meatballs and or sausage etc...) I do this a day ahead.
8-10 ounces fresh Mozzarella cut up or grated

12 ounces ricotta cheese
Basil leaves *Italian housewife trick: Don't wash them off but rub with a dry towel, this keeps them nice and green.
1 pound Pasta: ziti, rigatoni, penne...Something with holes to hold the sauce and whistle a tune!
1 - 1 & 1/2  Grated Cheese: Pecorino OR Parmesan Or a combo of the two
1/2 cup Bread Crumbs: plain
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Optional: 1 raw egg added to the ricotta and mixed in to make it more of a set casserole type dish or leave out for a looser dish.  
Equipment: 1 large lasagna or casserole dish. If I am making this for a crowd I buy the big aluminum pans and throw them away when finished.
Directions
Set oven to 500.
Boil the pasta until very al dente (slightly undercooked) and reserve 1/8- 1/4 cup water then drain. Add the sauce and a little pasta water, just enough to loosen up a tad bit and it helps set the sauce to the pasta, to the pasta and stir to coat.
Spread olive oil onto the bottom of the casserole dish, enough to coat the bottom, and dust with the bread crumbs.
Now mix everything together (reserving a little of parmesan and mozzarella for topping) Now finish off with reserved cheeses a dusting of bread crumbs and drizzles of olive oil all over.
You only bake this for 12-17 minutes checking often because it is such a high heat. Remove and allow to cool off a bit, at least 10 minutes before cutting into it.
OR you can cover and place in your fridge for over night and cook just before serving since it is so quick to cook, only 10-12 minutes. Bring back to room temp before baking or else the middle may still be cool.
Buon Appetito!

~Mia famiglia 1970's: that's me with the plaid shirt with my Daddy behind me~