Frost it all over, or just give it a layer in the middle for a touch of sweet. A simple buttercream frosting goes great with this cake or keep it plain and serve as a great tea cake.
Jennifer Cullen (Brooke Burns) is a single, working mom who has become somewhat of a Scrooge when it comes to the Holiday season. Even her six-year-old son Brian is having trouble believing in Santa Claus. When Jen’s Uncle Ralph (Henry Winkler), a retired police officer, comes to visit for Christmas, he brings along a new friend, a nomad and Jack-of-all-trades named Morgan Derby (Warren Christie). The two met on a flight, and Morgan’s plans to continue on to Denver are cancelled when he finds out the city is completely snowed in. Jen is wary of the stranger, but at Ralph’s request, agrees to let him stay the night. She warms up to Morgan, especially when she sees how he interacts with Brian. Uncle Ralph approves of Morgan, too, but Jen’s boyfriend Richard isn’t nearly as receptive. Meanwhile, Morgan has started to really like Jen, but if she can’t manage to make Christmas about anything more than business, Morgan will be on his way to Denver, and she’ll have missed the opportunity that was right in front of her. Uncle Ralph has done what he can to keep Morgan around, but it’s going to take something more than that to get him penciled into Jen’s long-term plans. Jen just needs to learn “how to do Christmas,” and it turns out Morgan is the perfect one to teach her.
Recipe: Season the pork chop generously with the pepper, cumin and salt. Place olive oil in a cast iron skillet under high heat and sear the pork chop on both sides. About 3 minutes on each side. To finish the chops, place in a 400 degree oven for about 12 minutes, or until thermometer reaches 140-150 degrees. In a separate cast iron skillet, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, chopped onions and cook until soft. Add the minced garlic until fragrant, about 2 minutes, then add the okra, tomatoes, chicken stock and lime juice. Allow the ingredients to come together and the flavors to incorporate with each other for about 10 minutes then season salt and pepper. Serve the pork chops with the succotash on top and drizzle with fresh lime juice.
