A couple of days ahead of time: Slice the bread and leave the slices out to dry. After a day or so, break the slices up into small pieces, and leave them all out to dry some more.

A few hours before the feast: Put a bit of oil into a large, unheated sauté pan. Break the sausage up into the pan, place it over medium-low heat, and cook the sausage while rendering out the fat. Pour off the excess fat, add the cream, and continue cooking until the cream has been absorbed.

In the meantime, remove the veins from the bay leaves, and then mince the bay, sage, and thyme leaves. Put most of the remaining oil in a sauté pan, heat it up, then add the herbs and fennel. Sauté for about ten minutes, until fennel begins to soften, and then add the leeks. Sauté for another ten minutes, until everything is soft and translucent. Push vegetables to the sides of the pan, leaving a clean spot in the center. Add the remaining bit of oil, let it heat, then add the garlic and ginger root. Sauté the garlic and ginger in that spot for a minute or two, then stir all the pan-contents together. Season to taste.

In a large bowl, stir together the bread, sausage, and vegetables. Add the stock, and stir to combine.

At this point, you can use this mixture to load up a roasting pan to bake below a butterflied turkey. Or, if the stuffing will be baked solo, beat up the eggs, stir them in, and transfer to a casserole dish. Cover and bake at 350° for about 40 minutes.