Push the turkey aside. It shouldn’t be all about the bird — but please do listen to last week’s great podcast with Marie Oser about having a vegan thanksgiving and holiday season, and in stark contrast our fun podcast with Jeff Yeager about his mission to save the giblets!
For some folks, the pies are just as important as the traditional stuffing recipe. Instead of regular apple, pumpkin and pecan varieties, why not mix it up a bit? Here three of my favorite pie recipes for Thanksgiving.
Apple Cranberry Walnut Pie
Ingredients
1 cup dried cranberries
2/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoon all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
2 1/4 pounds of 1/4 inch thick slices of an assortment of good cooking apples (your choice of granny smith, pippin, golden delicious, etc)
1/2 cup roasted walnuts
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
Directions
1. Preheat to 375°F
2. Combine cranberries, sugar, flour and allspice in large bowl. Mix in apples, walnuts, vanilla extract.
3. Remove one crust disk from the refrigerator. Let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes. Sprinkle some flour on top of the disk. Roll out with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface to a 12 inch circle; about 1/8 of an inch thick. As you roll out the dough, use a metal spatula to check if the dough is sticking to the surface below. Add a few sprinkles of flour if necessary to keep the dough from sticking. Gently fold in half. Place on to a 9-inch pie plate, lining up the fold with the center of the pan. Gently unfold and press down to line the pie dish with the dough.
4. Spoon in apple filling, mounding slightly in center.
5. Bake pie until apples are tender and crust is golden, anywhere from 50 minutes to a bit over an hour, depending on the type of apples you are using. Transfer to rack and let the pie stand at least 1 hour. Serve pie warm or at room temperature.
Ginger Pumpkin Meringue Pie
Ingredients 
1 15-ounce can of pumpkin
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 recipe Meringue (as listed below)
For the meringue
Ingredients
3 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon vanilla1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
Directions for meringue
Directions for whole pie
Sweet Potato Pie
Ingredients
1 pound 3 ounces sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 1/4 cup plain regular yogurt
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of nutmet
6 egg yolks
1 pinch of salt
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 deep-dish pie crust (either pre-made or your own works fine)
Directions
1. Peel and cube the sweet potatoes into a steamer basket and place the steamer basket into a pot of summering water that is no closer than 2 inches away from the bottom of the basket. Allow the cubes to steam for close to 20 minutes, or until a folk goes into them cleanly. Mash the cubes and set aside in a bowl to cool.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
3. Place sweet potatoes in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat with the paddle attachment. Add yogurt, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, yolks, pinch of salt and beat until well combined. Pour this batter into the pie shell and place onto a sheet pan. Sprinkle pecans on top and drizzle with maple syrup.
4. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until the custard doesn’t jiggle in the center. Remove from oven and cool. Keep refrigerated after cooling.
Apple Cranberry Walnut Pie image via Shutterstock
Pumpkin Meringue Image via Shutterstock
Sweet Potato Pie image via Bonjon Gourmet
