Need Information - Polish Funeral Etiquette & Kielbasi I

[Persepone]

Help with this greatly appreciated... Need information by Thursday 12/8 ...

I am doing some arrangements for the "after the funeral" get together at a friend's house-for another friend whose husband died... My problem is that the friend who died and his widow are Polish and when I was talking to her about what would be appropriate to serve I got a wistful request for "Kielbasi."

Now, I love Kielbasi and in general know how my family cooked it--but they are not Polish. And I moved away from the area where we are doing this, so I can't ask other friends, etc. as I will be cooking it here and transporting it (we borrowed a friend's house for the get together)...

How should it be cooked and served for such an occasion that will otherwise feature fairly standard "deli platter" and some cakes, danish, etc. etc. etc.

What else do you cook/serve with it? I'm familiar with kielbasi served with sauerkraut, but also served with a sweet purple shredded cabbage (and not sure where to get that)--and do you slice it into rounds? chunks? other? Boiled? fried? Baked? other? There are a bunch of recipes, but I don't know what is correct/appropriate here...

By the way, is coffee, tea, soft drinks okay? We'd like to avoid alcohol if not too much of a breach of etiquette, but if alcohol is necessary, what should it be?

We (that's a collective "we"--a bunch of their friends) want to do this right and are concerned about her family feeling it is right also--and none of us know much about what her family's expectations are. (Several are very elderly, and the rest are traveling from long distances, and all have been hit hard this year (3 of her sub-families are displaced Katrina victims) so we don't want to ask them for "directions." We should be able to figure out how to do this for our friend.

Any other special "etiquette" things that we should know about? "To do's"? "Not to do's?"

[coriolis]

There's got to be a Polish Kielbasi message board out there......

[streetsoldier]

Try http://www.kielbasyboys.com/CzerwRecipes.html

Or, do a Google search for "Kielbasa recipes", if you don't like what you find in this link.

[coriolis]

Here's some links:

Polish American Journal: http://www.polamjournal.com/Links/links.html

Polish Heritage Club:
http://www.phcwi-madison.org/newsletter.htm

[Persepone]

Thanks for the links. I'm exploring...

[alicia-w]

In Poland the funeral feast is referred to as the stypa. Peas and noodles prepared with poppy seeds and honey are traditional foods. (Funeral Customs the World Over: Habenstein and Lamers: 451)


Burial and rituals associated with deathFuneral customs are determined by the Churchand wishes of the family. For Polish Catholics, religious ritualsinclude the administration of Holy Communion and the Last Rites.After the burial, mourners are invited for a wake,or stypa,where drinks and food are served in memory of the person. Most Poles have a stoic acceptance of death as part of the life process, and a strong sense of loyalty and respect for their loved ones. Family and friends stay with the dying person so that the dying do not feel abandoned. Graves of loved ones are visited for years to come, particularly on All Souls Day (1stNovember), when flowers and candles are placed on the graves.

http://www.pallcarevic.asn.au/mc/mcpolish.html

http://www.koteckis.com/banquets__funeral.htm

[Pburgh]

Just sent you a PM with recipe for Haluski. It can be made in 1/2 hour!!!