Creamy Lemon Basil Tomato Pasta

This is version 1.0
Turned out to be very nice pasta, and might want to try again.

Pasta: Penne Regata (sp?) (2" long, ridged, tube pasta)

Ingredients:
good olive oil - part of the flavor
1/2 bay leaf, soak in water 5 min
1 Tbsp chopped lemon basil - mine was VERY lemony!
few sprigs of thyme, stipped
1 Tbsp chopped garlic chive, sliced to 1/2"
2 green onions including greens, split to center, sliced thin
1.5 cups finely diced ripe tomatoes, retain 1/2 cup for second add
1/2 cup of microplaned hard cheese : parmesan or whatever
2 ounces cream cheese
1 cup white wine (pinot grigio - was a tart wine)
salt
white pepper
brown sugar
chile flake

Bay Leaf:
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First, soak the bay leaf for a few minutes in a dash of water.  It needs to soak for at least 5 minutes before we use it, so carry on with the vegetable prep while that soak is happening.

After it has soaked for about 5 minutes you can heat a fry pan up with 2 tablespoons of good olive oil.  Heat over very low heat, lower is better.  "Dry" (I shook it!) the bay leaf and place it in the center of the oil.  We want to slowly warm and toast the bay leaf to extract a little of the flavor into the oil.

If the bay leaf even barely noticably changes color be careful.  You might burn it.  Mine toasted for 5 minutes before it was an even tan, then that was enough as I didn't want to burn it.

Sauce:
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Over meduim heat in the bay leaf oil, add another 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  In the heated oil add 1/2 of the basil & chive, all of the thyme, all of the green onion, pinch of salt.  Saute briefly until it begins to collapse.

Add 1 cup of tomatoes.  Salt, and light pepper to taste.  Bring tomatoes to a simmer cook until they begin to collapse.

Add in 1 cup of white wine, increase heat and bring to a simmer.  

Add in the cream cheese, stirring until mostly combined.  Taste, and adjust for sugar (2 tsp?), couple shakes of hot chile flakes, salt, pepper.  

Toss in the last of the tomatoes and herbs.  Bring to simmer, adjust for salt if needed.  Keep warm, ready for fresh pasta next.

Reserve all the shredded cheese.

Combining:
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Turn off the heat on the warm saucepan when the pasta is done.

If you timed the pasta to come out when the sauce was ready, as we did, let the pasta dry a little, shaking it so it looses most of it's liquid.

Toss pasta on top of the sauce in the pan.  Put all the shredded cheese on top of the hot pasta.  Spoon the sauce over the cheese to combine it a bit, toss from the outside in.

Combine to a near uniform look.  Cover and let sit off the heat for about 9 minutes.  Good!!!