Marinated Polish Sausage, Fridge Pickles

My husband's Dad and Uncle have played in a band for the past fifty years.  Don used to play with them, and when we first met, I used to go to Sheridan often for the dances.  They played at little community dance halls around Sheridan and Buffalo, plus the Eagles, and Elks, etc...We always had a blast. 
Several years ago, they started having an annual party, inviting their friends and family.  Everybody brings a covered dish, and donates for the meat and the renting of the hall.  There are five or six long tables groaning with food.  Every homemade wonder you could think of!  It was at the first party  that I tasted the marinated Polish Sausage for the first time.  Being pregnant at the time, I was crazy for anything pickled anyway, but when I tasted this, I thought I'd died and went to heaven! I'm sure that the quality of the sausage has something to do with it, but it is just a great flavor combination. 
The polish sausage you can buy in Sheridan is the best ever.  We stock up whenever we are there.  The man who makes it butchers the animals, blends the sausage and smokes it himself, so it is a premium product.  I can't tell you how many times I've seen people open the sack, and drive off from the parking lot with a polish in their mouth!  It's so good, you can't wait to have one.

Marinated Polish Sausage
1 pound of polish sausage cut into diagonal slices
1 large white onion cut in thin slices
1 T garlic
1/3 C chopped fresh parsley
1/3 C red wine vinegar
3 T olive oil
2 fresh *bay leaves
1/2 tsp whole mustard seed
Place all ingredients in an airtight container, and keep for at least twenty four hours before serving.  This is a great appetizer for summer, or makes a wonderful light supper with some crusty bread and a salad.
It smells amazing when you open the container!

I remember being at one annual party when it was a good cucumber year.  There were fifteen bowls of fridge pickles!  It is a favorite of mine, and I learned to make it when I was a kid because my Dad loved them, too. I just put a big tupperware full of them in the fridge tonight, so we will be enjoying them in a couple days.

Fridge Pickles
3 large peeled slicing cucumbers or European cucumbers (unpeeled)
1 large white onion sliced thinly
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/3 C white vinegar
1/3 C olive oil
1 tsp dried dill weed
2 fresh *bay leaves
a handful of whole peppercorns
1 tsp whole mustard seed
a pinch of celery seed
Combine all ingredients in an airtight container, or canning jar with a lid.  Let sit in the fridge for twenty four hours before serving.  Really good on a bagel with some smoked salmon and cream cheese!

*Today's pantry star is fresh bay.  I buy them in the produce section this time of year to use in pickling, but because of their long shelf life, I can keep them for months in a baggie in my meat drawer.  They will dry out, but will still be more flavorful than the dried ones in the jar. Besides pickles, I use them in roasts and stews and homemade soups.  I've even put them in jelly with rosemary.