So I was just walking through H-mart my local asian grocery and I saw Fennel (Anise) for $.89 ea which is cheap so I bought a bulb. What do I use it for you ask? I have a Fennel, quince and Butternut squash bake that is real nice but tonight I thought about something different. After last weekends BBQ several friends left some Chardonnay and since I didn't want to waste it I decided to braise the Fennel in it.  The Fennel went into a pan with some butter, sugar and salt and I seared it then added broth, thyme and Chardonnay and braised it for about 20 minutes. This works OK as a side dish but I wanted it as the main dish so I boiled some Herb Pierogies and threw them in and dinner was done. Not bad. The strangest thing though was 3 out of 4 of us thought the braised Fennel tasted like Pepperoni pizza. It really did! Maybe it was the thyme but the flavor was strong enough when I was cooking that I could smell it and everyone but Piper tasted it. Piper's so visual I didn't think she can taste anything but what she sees and what she saw was onion.