sausage and fennel cornbread gravy

Ingredients

1 lb Sweet Italian sausage

¼ cup Butter, unsalted

2 Yellow onion, chopped fine

1 ½ lb Fennel bulb, stalks trimmed off, bulbs chopped fine

2 tsp Fennel seeds, chopped fine

¼ cup Pernod

2 tsp dried thyme

2 tsp dried tarragon

5 cup cornbread, diced

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:

1.Sauté the onion in bacon fat until tender.

2. Sauté sausage until rendered and cooked through. Remove from pan and reserve

3. Add butter to fat and sauté onions, fennel and fennel seeds until fennel is softened. Add pernod, thyme and tarragon and cook until most of the liquid is evaporated. Add back sausage and cornbread. Toss to combine well. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Bake in 350F degree conventional oven in water bath until set and brown on top, approximately 30-40 minutes.