Put half of your tomatoes in your food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Chop remaining tomatoes into 1/2-inch pieces (discard cores). Using a large measuring cup, combine blended and chopped tomatoes. Add reserved juice from the tomatoes to the cup until you have 2 cups of tomatoes and liquid.

Saute onion and tomato paste in oil over medium heat in a large pan. You want the onion to be soft and the whole mixture to be slightly browned. This will take 5 to 7 minutes. Add the minced garlic to the hot pan along with the pepper flakes (to your taste--a little goes a long way here) and cook briefly until the garlic is fragrant.

Add tomato mixture and salt to the pan with the onion mixture. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in vodka. Return the pan to the heat and simmer at medium-high heat for 8 to 10 minutes--until most of the alcohol is cooked off. Add the cream and cook for about one minute until the creamy sauce is hot.

Prepare penne. You want it to be cooked al dente. Reserve about 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water and drain the pasta. Return the drained pasta to the pot and toss the pasta with the sauce. Cook over medium heat for a few minutes to let the penne absorb some of the sauce. Add (or not) reserved pasta water to adjust the consistency of the sauce.

Stir in basil. Season with salt and pepper. Top with grated parmesan and slices of fresh mozzarella . Cover the dish with foil that has been sprayed with vegetable oil spray and bake in the oven for a few minutes until the mozzarella melts.

Garnish with chopped basil or chopped parsley.