I can’t say that my side of the family had many heirloom recipes that were lovingly handed down. I mostly remember flour-coated fried chicken, potato salad, and coleslaw as staples (all delicious), plus the traditional Thanksgiving turkey with all the fixings. I could write about how much salt-cured pork our ancestors probably ate, or about the well-documented First Thanksgiving attended by my Mayflower forebears—but instead, this post is about the food traditions our own family has built over the past several decades.
Most of those traditions come from my wife’s side. She grew up celebrating a traditional Polish Christmas Eve Wigilia (Vigil), a meal that featured fish such as śledzie marynowane (pickled herring), raspberry blintzes, and plum dumplings, along with the ritual breaking of the opłatek (wafer). We adapted this into our own Christmas Eve dinner of poached sole or flounder served with potatoes.
Along the way, we created a second tradition: a simple spread of pita bread, hummus, and olives—foods we associate with the eastern Mediterranean. As we eat, we think of shepherds in the fields on that first Christmas night, startled by angels bringing good news. And, of course, we baked Christmas cookies, including kolaczki filled with nuts, apricot preserves, or lekvar (prune butter).
Every so often (not every day!), we also enjoy everyday Polish comfort foods: pierogi straight from the skillet, or hearty gołąbki (stuffed cabbage). But the king of all Polish dishes, at least for me, is kielbasa with sauerkraut and boiled potatoes. If there’s one meal I could easily overeat, that’s it.
The trick, however, is finding good kielbasa. In Buffalo, that was easy—local brands (“Don’t give me that bologna, I want Wardynski!”) filled the grocery stores. Here in Maryland, options are slimmer, though we occasionally get lucky. And of course, a trip back to Buffalo means stopping by Redlinski’s and packing a cooler full of the good stuff.
Lately, though, our Mecca has been the Kielbasa Factory, which sells a fantastic selection imported from Chicago. With a solid pound and a half in hand, you can make my simple, time-tested recipe:
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Kielbasa and Sauerkraut
Ingredients
1 1/2 lbs smoked kielbasa, cut into ~3” pieces
1 small onion, diced
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 large bag sauerkraut, partially drained
1 Tbsp oil
Celery seed
Directions
1. Heat oil in a skillet (an electric one works well) over medium heat.
2. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 5–8 minutes.
3. Stir in brown sugar until the onions are coated.
4. Increase heat, add kielbasa, and brown lightly.
5. Add sauerkraut, cover, and reduce to a simmer.
6. Sprinkle with celery seed and cook for about 15 minutes, or until the kielbasa is thoroughly heated.
Serve with: boiled potatoes, beans or another vegetable, rye bread, and beer.
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Enjoy sparingly—and save enough for leftovers. They’re even better the next day.
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