I want to make an unconventional Thanksgiving dessert

Change traditional pie crust to graham cracker in the following recipe:

Patti LaBelle’s Sweet Potato Pie, from her 1999 cookbook “LaBelle Cuisine.

The “black bottom” of the title refers to the nifty technique of sprinkling a little of the brown sugar on the pie crust before partially baking it without the filling — or “bind,” adding flavor and keeping the crust from getting soggy. (I wasn’t immediately sure who the Norma of the recipe title is, but I suspected it was Norma Harris, LaBelle’s longtime hairdresser. How did the pie turn out? It’s pretty great, honestly: The crust is flaky and tender, and the filling is particularly creamy, not too sweet, and nicely spiced — pretty bold with the nutmeg." This makes a light-textured pie, not too sweet, a nice spice flavor, with a flaky, tender crust.

You’ll need a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. The pie crust dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. Any leftover pureed sweet potatoes can be frozen for up to 6 months. The pie can be baked and refrigerated a day in advance. For the crust 1 1/2 cups flour, plus more for the work surface 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup butter-flavored vegetable shortening, chilled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces 1/3 cup ice water 1 tablespoon melted unsalted butter 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar For the filling Salt 3 large orange-fleshed sweet potatoes (about 2 3/4 pounds), scrubbed 7 tablespoons (most of 1 stick) unsalted butter, melted 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar 1/2 cup granulated sugar 2 large eggs, beaten 1/4 cup half-and-half 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg Continued

Continued Directions For the crust: Sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Add the shortening. Use a fork or a pastry blender to cut the shortening into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with a few pea-size bits. Stirring with the fork, gradually add enough of the water until the mixture clumps together (you may need more or less water). Gather up the dough and press into a thick disk. If desired, wrap the dough in wax paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 3 days. Lightly flour a work surface. Place the chilled dough on it; roll out to a round that’s 13 inches across. Fold the dough in half. Transfer to the pie plate; gently unfold the dough to fit into it. Trim the dough as needed to leave a 1-inch overhang. (Bake or reserve the scraps for another use.) Fold the dough under itself so the edge of the fold is flush with the edge of the pan. Flute the dough around the edge of the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate while you start the filling (and up to 1 hour). For the filling: Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add a generous pinch of salt, then the sweet potatoes. Reduce the heat to medium; cook until the sweet potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife, about 30 to 45 minutes. Drain the sweet potatoes, letting them fall into a colander. Run under cold water until cool enough to handle. Discard the skins; transfer the cooked sweet potatoes to a mixing bowl. Use a hand-held electric mixer to blend on medium speed until creamy and smooth. You’ll need 3 cups for the filling; scoop out the remainder and reserve for another use. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Uncover the pie shell; brush the interior with the melted butter. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the bottom of the pie shell. Par-bake until the crust is set and just beginning to brown, about 15 minutes. (If the pie shell puffs, do not prick it.) Let cool. Meanwhile, add the melted butter and brown sugar, the granulated sugar, eggs, half-and-half, cinnamon and nutmeg to the pureed sweet potatoes. Beat on medium speed until well incorporated. Pour into the par-baked pie shell, smoothing the surface. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Bake (middle rack) until a knife inserted in the center of the filling comes out clean yet the filling still jiggles a bit, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, then cover loosely and refrigerate until ready to serve. Original Source: Adapted from “LaBelle Cuisine: Recipes to Sing About,” by Patti LaBelle (Clarkson Potter, 1999).racker in the following copycat Patti La Belle's Sweet Potato Pie Recipe:

Mary, please.

That sounds exhausting!

How about Zabaione (there are different spelling of this)? It's a light whipped eggy frothy desert with a liquor (brandy?) that you spoon into individual red wine glasses or small, pretty bowls. It's festive and delicious.

Or a traditional fig pudding and hard sauce?

Thanks, guys! After chatting with a few friends, I landed on an Irish Car Bomb Cake. Dark Chocolate Guinness Cake with Irish Cream Buttercream Frosting and topped with a Jameson infused Chocolate Ganache. I'm going to turn my whole family diabetic!

Sounds delicious, OP!

Just be careful with the car bomb - with all the terrorism going around now you may trigger some flashbacks...

Just kidding. I love car bomb cupcakes. And my folks are from London.

R8 - yeah, my fam's from the UK originally as well, so we're not stuck on any must-have Thanksgiving staples. I'm probably going to use Nigella's original recipe for the cake itself, but then turn to this recipe for the frosting and ganache. This blogger claims her buttercream frosting will hold up at room temperature.

Thanks for the link, OP. That may be a new cupcake recipe I try.

I want to make Thanksgiving all about me.

There. Fixed that for you.

Don’t be such a negative Nancy, r11. I find pumpkin pie to be so boring. I give OP props for mixing it up a little.