Dan (that’s my husband) and I bought a pellet grill right before Thanksgiving so we could smoke a turkey for turkey day. Turns out we smoked three…but who’s counting. They were the best! We wet-brined them overnight from a brine mix we bought from Lowe’s when we bought the smoker. We bought a Pit Boss vertical smoker, and we have come to LOVE it! It’s amazing. Anyway, on Thanksgiving Day our guests couldn’t stop swiping pieces and saying this was the best turkey they ever had. I am sure all the compliments fueled our love for our new cooking tool. We will never cook another turkey any other way. We have now smoked 3 briskets, 2 pork shoulder roasts, and I’ve lost track of how many salmon fillets because they are amazing. We smoke a salmon fillet almost every weekend now. Any wow, just wow…so delicious. I think it’s the sesame oil, but it could be the coconut aminos that we substitute for soy sauce. But it is my new favorite way to make salmon. The recipe, in case you’re interested, is on the Pit Boss website for the Cedar Plank Salmon. So good!
All about the LOLLIPOPS...
This weekend we decided to finally pull the trigger and smoke the lamb lollipops that we bought before Thanksgiving…we had every intention of making them during the holidays. In fact, I bought two packages in case we liked them and could make them again without having to go back to Costco. Well, the holidays came and went, and we never opened the package to try them out. Why didn’t we? I don’t know for sure, but I think it has to do with that fact that I have never made lamb.
Actually, I take that back. I made a lamb shank once and everyone hated it. We ended up ordering pizza. I don’t know if it was me, my cooking, or the fact that it was something new…but we didn’t love it and I’ve never done that again. One lamb shank was enough!!!
Once, I had these wonderful lamb lollipops at a restaurant in Frisco, when we were there to drink their fabulous wine, and eating just came along with the wine. If you don’t know me yet, I do love a good red Cabernet Sauvignon. Love me some good cab. Anyway, I specifically remember how surprised I was that the lamb lollipops were sooooo good. I’ve always wanted to try and make them after that night and that was easily a good ten years ago. Patience is a virtue.
The day finally came; we made lamb lollipops and another whole fillet of salmon last weekend. Of course, the salmon was so delicious that I added this recipe to my recipe book. I love it. As far as the lamb lollipops, I cannot believe that I waited 10 years to try to make them on my own. They were amazing!! I will be making Lamb Lollipops the next time my kids come over because they must try them!
Lamb and tax planning. Say what?
So, what does this have to do with accounting, tax, and tax planning? Everything of course. It’s all relative. Trying new things is something that we can all relate to. We bought a pellet smoker to help us with Thanksgiving dinner. Likewise, now is an excellent time to work with an accountant that helps you minimize your taxes before the year is over…yes, I am talking about before 2023 is over!
If you have never done tax planning at the end of the year, this would be a good time to get your ducks in a row and get prepared to be able to do it this year. Last year is over. There isn’t anything you can do to make it better…it is what it is. But you can be more prepared for the end of this year by working with an accountant now that does tax planning at the end of the year. In order to do tax planning at the year-end, your accounting has to be current, so you have good information from which to make decisions. If that happens, then planning can happen too!
Proactive accountants work with you on tax planning so you can be sure that you are minimizing your tax bill every year.
Don’t be afraid to pull the Traeger…I know we bought a Pit Boss, but I couldn’t resist.