Savory Apple and Sausage Bread Pudding

Grease a 9- x 13-inch baking dish and reserve. Preheat oven to 300°F. Arrange bread cubes on a baking sheet and toast until partially dried out, about 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven, cool and reserve. Raise oven to 375°F.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Cook sausage, seasoning with salt and pepper and breaking up with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink and cooked through, 6-7 minutes. Remove from skillet and reserve. Add remaining oil to skillet. Add onions and cook until soft, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook one additional minute. Add apples, celery and thyme and cook until apples and celery are crisp-tender, about 5-6 minutes. Return sausage to skillet and add Girard’s® Champagne Dressing, cranberries, salt and pepper. Stir through, cook for 1 minute, remove from heat and cool for 10 minutes.

Place bread cubes in a very large bowl. Add apple-sausage mixture and toss to incorporate. Arrange in prepared baking dish. Combine cream, milk and eggs and whisk to make a custard. Stir Gruyere into custard. Pour custard along sides of baking dish, tipping to distribute custard evenly among bread-sausage mixture. Bake until crust is golden brown, about an hour.

Remove from oven, cool slightly and serve. Drizzle with additional Girard’s® Champagne Dressing.