In Mexico they have a wonderful holiday tradition called Posada, which commemorates the journey that Mary and Joseph took to Bethlehem where Jesus was born. Each home in a neighborhood will have a Nativity or manger scene in their house. The local church will choose three homes to represent innkeepers in Bethlehem and four teen-aged children in the parish are given the honor to represent Mary and Joseph. These children will carry small statues of Joseph leading a donkey upon which Mary is riding side-saddle. On the chosen night, usually during novena or nine days before the 24th, a candle-lit procession consisting of adults and children called Peregrinos, lead by a person carrying a small paper lantern called a farlito, will wind through the neighborhood visiting each of the three houses in turn. The teens carrying the statues and the participants in the procession visit each house singing a simple chant each time, but it is only the third house that takes Mary and Joseph in. At this point all of the peregrinos enter the house and kneel before the crèche to pray the Rosary. The Rosary is a traditional Catholic prayer cycle said at important times during the religious year. Traditional Christmas hymns are also sung including in particular, O Holy Night. Once the Rosary is said, and songs sung, it is time for the children amongst the peregrinos to celebrate Jesus’ birth with a joyful party, which includes food, more music and a piñata.

I’ve always loved the story of Joseph and Mary’s great journey and over the years I’ve seen it as a metaphor for many things in my life. When things have been dark I’ve remembered the posada and its example of just how far determination and faith can move a person in this world. It’s certainly gotten me a long way, that’s for sure. And at the risk of spinning a silly, inappropriately parallel comparison, I sometimes see myself as being a tiny bit like that sole innkeeper who gave shelter to a desperate, fearful couple in the middle of the night two thousand years ago. That innkeeper is the hero in the Greatest Hospitality Story Ever Told. If we in this industry knew that person’s name, it would over-shadow every famous name in our business like the moon eclipsing the sun.

The story of Jesus’ birth resonates for all people around the globe, and I have always particularly liked the innkeeper part, because in my small way, I have at times been in that guy’s position. And I like to think that like him, I have made the right decisions and helped make someone’s life a little easier, a little brighter and maybe even, memorable. Of course – in that old innkeeper’s case – he done good. Really, really good. However, the one thing I’ve never liked about the story of the innkeeper is how the Bible says he took pity upon Mary and Joseph. Now I’m no theologian and I hesitate to contradict biblical teaching, but I know a thing or two about hospitality management and I prefer to think that that innkeeper of Bethlehem wasn’t giving them shelter out of pity, but out of a hospitality veteran’s deep sense of duty to help customers in need. Call me crazy, call me a heretic, call me just plain dumb, but I feel I can spot a finesse move by a hospitality professional a mile away and that innkeeper made a move that shrinks all the moves Michael Jordan ever made to a point smaller than the period at the end of this ridiculously, over-blown literary allusion.

Something else I’ve always wondered about the night Jesus was born was if Mary or Joseph had anything to eat or drink while awaiting their Son’s birth. Surely, the innkeeper would have offered them something, however meager it may have been. I like to imagine, since they were in the Middle East, that they might have kept the food light with some nice pita with baba ganoush. And I imagine a little more and in keeping with traditional fare served during the time of Posada in Mexico, maybe Joseph and Mary wolfed down a tamale. Then again, probably not. Sometimes I imagine too far and Mary was after all, in labor and not into eating anything. And as all fathers know, a woman in labor is a force of nature not to be trifled with, so it’s very likely that Joseph didn’t eat either. Anyway, regardless of my over heated imaginings, in celebration of the season, here are two recipes I’ve picked up along the way traveling through life on my own personal posada, Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas….

Baba Ganoush

Baba Ganoush

2 medium eggplants, about 1-1/2 pounds total
1/4 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup tahini
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
3 olives for garnish
Warmed chunks of pita bread for serving

Preheat oven to 450° F.  Prick eggplants with a fork. Arrange on non-stick cooking sheet and bake until tender and collapsed, 30 to 40 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes. Cut each eggplant in half lengthwise and scoop out the flesh. Place flesh in a food processor with a metal blade and process until smooth. If you prefer to mash by hand, use a fork or potato masher.  Add lemon juice, tahini, garlic and salt and pepper to taste and process (or mash) until well blended. Slowly add 3 tablespoons olive oil until mixture is creamy.  Chill for at least two hours.  Serve in a shallow bowl. Drizzle olive oil over top, sprinkle with parsley and garnish with olives.

Tamale

Jesus’ (really) 60 Minute Chicken Tamales

Ingredients

6 cups Maseca Corn Masa mix for tamales
6 cups Chicken broth
1 cup corn or other vegetable oil (corn will enhance the flavor)
2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 large rotisserie chicken
2 1/2 12 oz jars green tomatillo sauce
1 bag corn husks

Instructions

Soak the corn husks in warm water until soft.

Using an electric mixer, blend the masa flour (Maseca for Tamales), corn oil, salt, baking powder and the chicken broth to obtain a consistent mixture.

Shred the chicken and marinate in the green salsa or tomatillo sauce.

Spread masa evenly over corn husks, and spread a spoonful of marinated chicken on top of the masa.

Fold the sides of the corn husk to center over the masa so that they overlap to make along package.Fold the empty part of the husk under so that it rest against the side of the tamale with a seam.

Place the tamales in a steamer and cook tamales for 35-40 minutes. Check every 20 minutes.The tamale is cooked when it separates easily from the corn husk