thanksgiving small plates - un-pumpkin pie & maple vanilla whipped cream

So I dislike pumpkin pie as much as I dislike turkey. Luckily I normally don't have to make them ever. I saw a recipe in the NYTimes about a pumpkin pie that used butternut squash, cream and brandy to make a mousse-like filling and figured I'd give it a try. They recommend roasting the butternut squash in butter to give it a nice caramelized flavor. This is where I got the idea of blending my sweet potato pie as well since they suggested pureeing the squash in a food processor I don't have. I put a lot more spices in this one (too much, in my opinion), but the whipped cream kind of tempers the flavor of the pumpkin pie seasoning.  I also used rum since that was all I had. I'd probably always use something other than pumpkin if I had to make pie with it, but I still prefer sweet potato.  The frozen pie crust is also different on this one.