Parade magazine wants your pie recipe

I was looking for it Sunday and I missed it, so I figured you might not have spotted this either: Parade Magazine is holding a national pie contest, The All-American Pie-Off. The winners in seven categories (apple, cherry, Derby, Key Lime, pecan, pumpkin and sweet potato) will get $50 American Express gift cards, will be featured on parade.com and dashrecipes.com, and will have the chance to be featured in Parade.

The reason I was looking for it Sunday: I'm one of the judges. Parade apparently saw my article on sweet potato pie (yes, it should be North Carolina's state pie!), and asked if I'd judge the sweet potato category.

Other judges: Michele Stuart of Michele's Pies in Connecticut and author of "Perfect Pies"; Debbie Macomber, author of "The Christmas Cookbook"; Rosemary Black, author of a bunch of cookbooks (and mother of Kidcook columnist Molly Lopez, for those who remember her) and editor of Dash and Parade's Sunday Dinner column; Sharon Thompson, food writer for the Lexington Herald Leader; Janet Keller, food editor of the St. Pete Times; and Linda Odette of the Grand Rapids Press.

The deadline for entries is Nov. 19. Go here for details on how to enter. Make sure you send a good sweet potato entry - I'm looking forward to it.

Photo: Todd Sumlin, The Charlotte Observer.

Pumpkin pie vs. sweet potato: How do you make the call?

They're both dark orange, they both have smooth consistencies that are the perfect contrast with flaky crust, and they both taste mighty good under a crown of whipped cream.

So how do you decide which pie to have for Thanksgiving, sweet potato or pumpkin?

Pumpkin has that fall-harvest connection, but it's too often relegated to frozen-pie status. It's like we feel the obligation but not the motivation. Sweet potato pie recipes usually have family roots, but it gets so spiced and sweetened, it loses its connection to the fields and becomes just another delivery system for melted marshmallows.

Personally, I skip the debate and go with pecan. It's in my Georgia roots. Or I try to find the best of both worlds with a pumpkin pie topped with sweetened pecans, for that creamy/crunchy/nutty contrast.

But in the run-up to Thanksgiving, I'd love to hear which way you go and how you make the decision. What's your pleasure - pumpkin or sweet potato?