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Oh my gosh - so much information! Thank you all so much! I can't wait to sit down with these and a cup of tea and make my plan of attack. One more question if anyone is still reading - if I pre-bake the crust, and then fill with pumpkin and bake it again, won't it burn?

A few tablespoons of ice cold water and cold, cold cubes of butter. Whiz with flour and salt in the food processor until the butter is about the size of green peas. Turn out onto a sheet of plastic wrap, shape into the form of a disc, wrap that sucker up and let rest in the fridge for an hour. Never fails.

@ dbcurrie: I'm personal a fan of the floating crust, but you can easily avoid it by cooking your pie filling before filling the pie.

Variation on the crust theme, but I would caution about trying it for your first pie on T'Day. Worthy of a trial run though.

I made a bottom only blind baked shell for quiche last week, based on Julia Childs' pate brisee recipe I found on epicurious. I subbed 1/2 cup pecan meal for 1/2 cup of the flour, and did the prep in the food processor. Wrapped the dough in plastic and stuck it in the freezer for about 30-40 minutes.

It was too cold to roll out, so I grated it into the quiche pan through the large holes of a box grater. Spread it out evenly in the pan, and press to stick together, even up the sides. Like playdough fun.

It looked lumpy with finger prints, but after blind baking (unfilled) with aluminum foil and beans for 18 min at 400 it self leveled. Remove the foil & beans, and back for another 14 min.

Remove, cool a bit, & fill.

I love pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie, and I will eat butternut squash right out of the rind once it's roasted. I bake pumpkin bread and pumpkin pie in autumn, not really for the holidays so much. I generally love squash. I once made pies from a squash in Peru just because it was a novelty. These squashes/gourds are so big it takes two people to carry one. It's important to remember that pies aren't just a desert - they are often the main course, filled with meats, vegetables, and spices. My family usually has pumpkin pie around Thanksgiving and Christmas, but we also get tired of traditional holiday foods. Frequently, for Thanksgiving or Christmas, we will decide to have something different at the table. Last year we had an incredible Italian dish that my father prepared for Christmas, and I smoked chicken and baby back ribs for Thanksgiving. It didn't change the spirit of the holidays at all for us. So, I guess the important thing is that you enjoy what you cook and eat during the holidays.

Thanks all for the good wishes! We went with chili after all, it being the f-f-f-fiance's specialty and me being swamped with work. I did make a pan of Martha's Mac and cheese (oh my word that's decadent!) and a giant caesar salad as accoutrement. Those, with chips and bread, rounded out the meal.

As to the surprise...we handed out glasses, popped some champagne and asked them to toast to us. Hugs and cheers and A LOT more champagne followed.

Congratulations on your engagement BananaMonkey!!

First of all, if you make a good one - chili is not boring! Especially in the cold, it's comforting if you serve it with shredded cheese and some kind of chip to dip in it (I like pita chips) but if you're still opposed to the idea....maybe check out this fall dinner party meal planner.

Congratulations BananaMonkey-so exiciting--let us know how it goes!!

@hmw0029--thanks! So excited!

@lobsterfest--ice cream sandwiches sound awesome--also thinking a sundae bar would be great! why not celebrate!

roast pork loin, stuffed with an apple rasin stuffing, served with roasted root veg. make a pan sauce and call it dinner. Cheap and very comforting plus it goes great with fall spiced beer or a comforting red. Good luck

The baked ziti with heavy cream that was recently in recipes was incredibly delicious (just ask my huge hips!!) I added hot italian sausage.