Of course, it's only Christmas for some of us. And it's not even the cooking-est holiday - that would be Thanksgiving.  Yet publishers barely lift a finger for Thanksgiving, and Hannukah and Kwanzaa and Ramadan hardly get a second glance.  Christmas, at least in the English-speaking world, gets a special place on the cookbook shelf.  

Many cookbooks focus on Christmas cookies at this time of year, as if there weren't a causal connection between the butter of December and the resolutions of January.  But cookies are fun, they're quick, and they're kid-friendly to eat and (mostly) make, so it's no surprise that this category continues to tick along steadily every year.

Do a search of "The Perfect Christmas" here on EYB, and you'll get the sense that this holiday is impossible to resist for the Type A homemaker.  I've never quite understood this kind of Christmas.  For me, Christmas has always been for the kids, not the house, and as long as there's a tree, Santa comes, and the power and water stay on, it's all good.

Well - to be honest - there is one more thing I like to have around the house at Christmas.  I like to splurge a little on the protein. Used to be I'd get a once-a-year goose, but nowadays the price of goose (which is, by the way, a very bad deal per-pound anyway) has gone into orbit. So it's a pair of ducks - a treat right there, and I know just where to find a recipe.