Bargain guide, week beginning December 19th:

Every food website is devoted entirely around holiday recipes, of course.  Doing turkey again this year?  Chow.com has the best way to brine it, as well as a set of fast and easy skillet meals entirely suitable for a week when you're terribly tempted to tell the family “Tonight's dinner is a huge pot of EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF”, a vegetarian Christmas menu, and a set of covered dishes you won't want to keep covered for the family potluck.

Snack Girl has a festive looking salad of carrots and beets, how to make your own instant oatmeal, and a very impolite review of “The Worst Snack of 2012”.  Simply Recipes has a beef roulade with walnut pesto (and a recipe for the walnut pesto).  And at Grist, I found roasted red onions with pumpkin-rosemary stuffing, which even if you don't feel like making pumpkin-rosemary stuffing is a brilliant idea:  put your ordinary stuffing into onions and roast them!

Retailers figure you've finished most of your holiday baking by now and are preparing for Christmas dinner, so the biggest promotions this week are for enormous fowl and entire regions of kine and swine.

Lots of food holidays this week, besides the obvious food-oriented holiday.  Tomorrow is both National Fried Shrimp Day and National Sangria Day, which combination as far as I'm concerned has dinner covered.  The 24th is National Eggnog Day, and the day after Christmas is National Candy Cane Day.  And the 23rd, I'm told, is St. Thorlak's Day, the patron saint of Iceland.  On that date in Iceland it's traditional to serve “skate hash”, a dish said to be so unappetizing (its aroma is described as “ammoniacal”) that anything served afterwards seems by comparison delicious.

December 19th:  National Hard Candy Day
December 20th:  National Fried Shrimp Day, National Sangria Day
December 21st:  National Hamburger Day, Kiwifruit Day (in California)
December 22nd:  National Date Nut Bread Day
December 23rd:  National Pfeffernuesse Day;  feast of St Thorlak;  Saturnalia ends
December 24th:  National Eggnog Day
December 25th:  National Pumpkin Pie Day
December 26th:  National Candy Cane Day

Merry Christmas, and whatever God or Gods you look to, may their blessings rain upon you always!


Albertson's:

    Beef standing rib roast, whole damn thing, bone in, $4.77/lb
    Beef New York strip roast, bone in, $4.47/lb (steaks $1/lb higher)
    Beef ribeye roast, boneless, $6.99/lb
    Beef crossrib/bottom round/London broil roasts, boneless, $5.99/lb, buy 1 get 1 free
    Beef chuck/eye of round/sirloin tip roasts, boneless, $6.99/lb, buy 1 get 1 free
    93/7 ground beef, $2.99/lb (3 lbs or more)
    Pork sirloin chops, boneless, $1.77/lb
    Pork loin roast, boneless, whole in bag, $1.99/lb
    Hormel Cure 81 spiral sliced half ham, bone in, $1.37/lb
    Hormel Cure 81 half ham, boneless, $3.99/lb
    Cook's ham, bone in, shank portion, $1.29/lb
    Jennie-O fresh turkeys, 12-22 lb, $1.79/lb
    Butterball fresh turkeys, 12-22 lb, $1.99/lb
    Butterball frozen turkeys, 12-24 lb, $1.49/lb
    Honeysuckle White turkey breast, $1.77/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken breast, $1.77/lb
    Leg of lamb, bone in, $6.99/lb
    Coldwater lobster tails, 3 oz minimum, wild caught, $3.99/lb
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $6.99/lb
    Albertson's eggs, AA large, 18 ct, $1.99
    Daisy sour cream incl. Light, 16 oz tub, $1.99
    Challenge butter, 2/$5
    Sargento cheeses, 5-8 oz shreds, $2.99
    Tillamook cheeses, 2 lb chunk, $7.99
    Deli:    All Dietz & Watson ham/turkey breast/chicken breast/cheeses, $7.99/lb
        Signature (store brand?) turkey breast/roast beef/“double honey” ham, $6.99/lb
        Deli Fresh Muenster/Provolone/pepperjack/mild Cheddar, $5.99/lb
    Libby's veggies, 14-15 oz cans, 2/$1
    Stove Top stuffing mix, 6 oz boxes, 10/$10
    Betty Crocker potato dishes, 3-6 oz boxes, 10/$10
    Vlasic pickles, 16-46 oz jars, 2/$5
    Early California olives, 6 oz cans, 4/$5
    PictSweet frozen veg, 14-16 oz bags, 88¢
    Lean Cuisine frozen entrees, 5/$10
    Cuties clementines, 5 lb box, $2.99
    Navel oranges, $1.29/lb
    Fuji or Braeburn apples, $1/lb
    Cut up pineapple, 20 oz thing, $3.99
    Green Giant fresh green beans, 12 oz bag, 2/$5
    Vine tomatoes, 14 oz box, 2/$5
    Red or golden yams, 79¢/lb
    Broccoli crowns OR cauliflower, 99¢/lb


Bashas':

    Beef standing rib roast, “trimmed, tied, and ready for the oven”, $4.75/lb
    Beef standing rib roast, large or small end, $5.75/lb
    Beef ribeye steaks, bone in, $6.99/lb
    Beef tenderloin, whole in bag, $6.99/lb, cut & wrapped free
    Beef top sirloin, sirloin tip, top/bottom/eye round, crossrib, rump, chuck roasts, $3.99/lb
    Ground beef chuck, fat content not listed, $1.99/lb
    Cook's spiral sliced half ham, $1.35/lb
    Pork shoulder/loin/crown roasts, $2.99/lb
    Cook's ham, shank portion, $1.29/lb (butt portion, 30¢/lb higher)
    Hormel spiral ham, $2.49/lb
    Hormel Cure 81 boneless ham, whole or half, $3.99/lb
    Butterball or Jennie-O fresh turkeys, $1.79/lb
    Food Club cheeses, 6-8 oz chunk/shreds/cubes, 5/$10
    Food Club butter, 2/$5
    Shamrock Farms cottage cheese incl. Light, 16 oz tubs, $1.99
    Bashas' “Homestyle” bread, 24 oz wide-pan loaves, $2.88
    Nature's Own bread, 20 oz long loaves, $1.99
    Nabisco snack crackers, 5-10 oz boxes, $1.99
    Stove Top stuffing mix, 6 oz boxes, 99¢
    Libby's veg, 14-15 oz cans, 69¢
    Dole pineapple, 20 oz cans, 10/$10
    Dole Mandarin oranges, 11 oz cans, 10/$10
    Idahoan potatoes, 3-4 oz bags, 99¢
    Food Club fruit, 8-15 oz cans, 99¢
    Flav-R-Pac frozen veg, 12-16 oz bags, 77¢ ea
    Whole pineapples, 99¢ ea
    Blackberries, 4 oz box, buy 1 get 1 free
    Apples, Fuji/Red Delicious/Granny Smith, 99¢/lb
    Navel oranges, 99¢/lb
    Cantaloupe OR honeydew melon, 59¢/lb
    Slicing tomatoes, 99¢/lb
    Fresh green beans, 77¢/lb


Fry's:

    Beef New York strip roast, bone in, $3.77/lb
    Beef standing rib roast, bone in, whole in bag, $4.97/lb (trimmed, $1/lb higher)
    Beef rib roast, large end, $6.97/lb (small end $1/lb higher)
    Beef tenderloin roast, whole in bag, $12.99/lb
    Beef top/bottom/eye round, sirloin tip, chuck, shoulder roasts, boneless, $3.99/lb
    Beef New York strip steaks, $4.77/lb
    Cook's spiral sliced ham, bone in, $1.27/lb
    Hormel Cure 81 spiral sliced ham, bone in, $2.69/lb
    Private Selection spiral sliced ham, bone in, $2.49/lb
    Private Selection boneless ham, “quarter sliced”, $3.99/lb
    Flame Crafted ham, $6.99/lb “in select stores”
    Kroger boneless whole ham, $2.79/lb
    Rack of pork, center cut, $5.99/lb
    Pork crown roast, $5.99/lb
    Half pork loin, boneless, whole in bag, $3.49/lb, sliced & wrapped free
    Leg of lamb, “semi boneless”, $6.99/lb
    Rack of lamb, 8 rib, $13.99/lb
    Jennie-O or Foster Farms fresh turkeys, $1.79/lb
    Butterball fresh turkeys, $1.99/lb
    Kroger frozen turkeys, 79¢/lb
    Frozen ducks, $2.99/lb
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $5.99/lb
    Kroger butter, $1.99
    Kroger cheeses, 6-8 oz chunk/shreds/shingle, $1.99
    Kroger veggies, 11-15 oz
    Bruce's yams, 29 oz cans, buy 1 get 1 free
    Ragu pasta sauces, 16-26 oz jars, 3/$5
    Kroger frozen veg, 9-12 oz bags, 75¢
    PictSweet (14-16 oz) or Birds Eye (12 oz) frozen veg, 10/$10
    Navel oranges, 13 lb box, $4.99
    Blackberries OR blueberries, 4-6 oz boxes, 2/$3
    HoneyCrisp apples, $1.99/lb
    Asian pears (apple shaped), 88¢/lb

Safeway:

    Beef ribeye roast, bone in, whole in bag, $4.99/lb
    Beef chuck pot roast, boneless, $2.99/lb
    Beef chuck crossrib steak, thin cut boneless, $3.99/lb
    Beef ribeye steaks, boneless, $7.99/lb
    Beef tenderloin roast, $11.99/lb
    90-10 ground beef, $3.99/lb
    Safeway smoked ham, whole or shank half, 99¢/lb (rump half 20¢/lb higher)
    Safeway Select boneless whole ham, $3.99/lb
    Safeway spiral sliced half ham, bone in, $1.79/lb
    Smithfield spiral sliced half ham, bone in, $2.99/lb
    Hormel Cure 81 boneless half hams, $4.99/lb
    Pork sirloin chops, boneless, $1.99/lb
    Open Nature leg of lamb, boneless, $7.99/lb
    Open Nature fresh turkeys, $1.99/lb
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $7.99/lb
    Lucerne OR Open Nature cheeses, 24-32 oz chunk or shreds, $6.99
    Lucerne butter, $2.99
    Safeway Kitchens breads, 24 oz wide pan loaves, $1.99
    Vlasic pickles, 24 oz jars, buy 1 get 1 free
    Prego pasta sauces, 23-24 oz jars, 3/$5
    Safeway Kitchens tomatoes, 14-15 oz cans, 89¢
    Green Giant frozen veg, 7-10 oz boxes, buy 2 get 1 free
    Eating Right frozen entrees, 5/$10
    Cuties clementines, 5 lb bag, $3.99
    Whole pineapples, $2.99 ea
    Red Delicious OR Granny Smith apples, $1.49/lb
    Navel oranges, 99¢/lb
    Vine tomatoes, AZ grown, $1.99/lb
    Fresh Express OR Safeway Farms bag salads, 2/$5
    GreenLine fresh green beans, buy 1 get 1 free


Sprouts:

    Beef standing rib roast, “Presidential cut”, $7.99/lb
    85/15 ground beef, value pack, $3.99/lb
    Sprouts spiral sliced ham, $1.99/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs, $2.99/lb
    Fresh free-range turkeys, $1.99/lb
    All pork or chicken sausage, bulk or links, $2.99/lb
    Alaskan cod or salmon fillets OR swordfish steaks, wild caught, $6.99/lb
    Sprouts butter, 2/$5
    Navel oranges, 3 lbs/$1
    Fuji/Granny Smith/Jonagold apples, 99¢/lb
    Organic Valencia oranges, 4 lb bag, 2/$5
    Roma tomatoes, 77¢/lb
    Winter squashes, acorn/butternut/spaghetti, 77¢/lb