Here we are, the big day just around the corner, Thanksgiving! Hope you remembered to thaw your turkey and picked up enough green beans from the store! Yes, it truly is one of the great holidays (history and origin notwithstanding), for it is the one holiday in our country with no pretense other than to feast! That doesn’t mean we don’t individually have our favorite little traditions outside of stuffing our gobs. Just means that there aren’t any other socially mandated activities, like gift giving, church services, etc. Heck, there aren’t even Thanksgiving cards!
So we thought we’d take a moment to share with you some of our favorite Thanksgiving foods and traditions, straight from the mouths of the Klockow staff.
It’s not a competition, but if there’s a winner for most popular food to eat amongst those that work here, potatoes take the trophy (Tasha, Andy, Adrianne, and Nathan). This is followed by green bean casserole, which both Jamie and Nathan named as a favorite to make/share for those big family gatherings. And why not? It’s easier than it looks, tastes better than you’d guess, and is generally a fan-favorite. (Side note: does anyone else find it odd that we call everything “hot dish” in Minnesota except for green bean casserole?)
Though if passion for a favorite is what it takes to make a food a winner, that would have to go to cranberry sauce, which Malachy named as his “answer for everything.”
Some other notable favorite dishes include ham (Zach the “ham man”), stuffing (Andy and Jamie), pistachio pudding (Amanda), and of course, turkey (funny enough, only Andy said turkey).

But what is a big feast without people to share it with?! Some of our staff’s favorite traditions and memories involve bringing people together. Having long worked in the restaurant industry, Amanda shared how she and her husband Kyle have “hosted what we called transplant thanksgiving. So all the line cooks and servers who didn't have a place to go would all come over and we'd cook rich, decadent meals like truffle butter turkey. Always loved that feeling of community with industry folks.” This is similar to what Tasha said about “having a ‘Lost Boys’ Thanksgiving for Andy and his friends who had to open Guitar Center at 4 a.m. on Black Friday when we lived in the cities.”

Amanda dreaming of future leftovers with Kyle and friend Ashley.

I know it’s crazy to say, but sometimes the people you’re eating with are actually family! Nathan noted “though I have enjoyed personally cooking an entire spread for just Rachelle and I (like last year’s Cornish Game Hen feast), we do tend to see extended family this day too.” One of Zach’s favorite memories of Thanksgiving was “playing flag football up at grandma and grandpa's with all the cousins and uncles, ice skating if the lake was safe, and listening to all the stories when everyone was together.” Jamie looks fondly on her running tradition of having “a sleep over at my BIL and SIL Wednesday night to mentally prepare for hosting Thanksgiving; AKA we drink and eat appetizers and play games.”

Some of us looked back fondly at the Thanksgivings of old, when we were kids. Sometimes we helped out, like Amanda recalling back when “my sister and I used to wake up at like 4 a.m. with my grandma to stuff the turkey (that had been brining the previous day) and she always made us sew it shut!” Or maybe we didn’t help, like Adrianne: “I would color in the Star Tribune turkey while watching the parade; AKA staying out of the kitchen.” Or maybe it was something else entirely, like Nathan’s “the Tuna Thanksgiving.”
Admittedly, some of us have better Thanksgiving memories than others. Good thing this isn’t a competition, because Andy and Tasha would take the pumpkin pie on this one. Quoth Andy, “Thanksgiving is when I proposed to Tasha! She had been frantically cleaning the house and almost found the ring I’d cleverly hidden in my jacket pocket. I waited until she was in the middle of making s'more pie and proposed! The pie is now forever known as ‘Engagement Pie.’"
The day will ultimately come to a close though, and you’ll be divvying up the leftovers amongst guests. That’s when you’re going to have to talk to Amanda, who named as her favorite food “Post-thanksgiving leftovers, stoner food edition. Lefse quesadillas with turkey, stuffing, and mac. Pan fried. Dip in cranberry sauce and gravy. Ima leftover queen. Challenge me!” So yeah, she might have some ideas on what to do with your leftovers.

And with that, we hope that you have a wonderful holiday! Make sure it’s filled with good cheer (and maybe more than a couple beers), a full plate, and a bunch of new memories. Happy Thanksgiving!!

~

Thanks for checking out our humble little brewery! As long as you keep coming by, we’ll do our part by making the best damn beer possible and serving it in our always inviting atmosphere.

The Klockow Staff

Beer drops this past week:

Local, etc. -

Smoke on the Water - Coleraine
Boulder Taphouse - Grand Rapids
Dutch Room & Mad Dog’s Pizza - Grand Rapids
Frontier Liquors - Grand Rapids
Sammy’s - Grand Rapids
Timberlake Lodge - Grand Rapids
Pokegama Plaza Liquors - Grand Rapids
SuperOne Liquor - Grand Rapids
SuperOne Foods North - Grand Rapids
SuperOne Foods South - Grand Rapids
Raven Stone - Coleraine
Itasca Curling Association - Grand Rapids
38 Outpost - Grand Rapids
S&S Bottle Shop - Deer River
Balsam Store - Bovey
Ron’s Korner Market - Bovey

Bigfork, etc. -

Kocian’s - Bigfork
Big Fork Wilderness Bar - Big Fork
North Star Lake Resort - Marcell
Hayslips Corner - Talmoon

The Range, etc. -

SuperOne Liquor - Hibbing
Rocket Liquors - Virginia
Silver Creek Liquors - Virginia
KM Corner Store - Nashwaulk
Keyboard Liquor - Chisholm

Ely, etc. -

Insula - Ely
Zup’s Food Market - Ely
Stinky Pete’s Tiny Weed Shop - Ely