Quick, easy sweet potato pie

If you'd told me ten years ago that I'd be making pies out of sweet potatoes one day, I'd have said you were nuts. But as it turns out, I like sweet potato pie a lot better than the pumpkin pies I was raised on.

SP pie tastes a lot like pumpkin pie, but with more texture, more color, and more flavor (and it's WAY easier to roast a couple of potatoes than a pumpkin).

Here's a really simple, really good recipe for an easy sweet potato pie:

3 good-sized (or 2 really big) sweet potatoes
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract (REAL, please, not the fake stuff)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1 frozen pie crust

Stab the sweet potatoes with a fork (a lot - let it all out, people), then put them on a foil-covered cookie sheet and roast at 400 for about 50 minutes - maybe 55 - till squishy.

Let them cool for an hour, then strip off the skins (easy to do if they're fully roasted) and break them up in a big bowl. Preheat oven to 350.

Add the softened butter, break out the mixer, and beat till close to smooth.

Add everything else - sugar, milk, eggs, spices, lemon juice, and vanilla. Beat till it's a little fluffy.

Take your frozen crust out of the bag and put it on the foil-lined cookie sheet you just used to roast the potatoes. Spatula the mix into it.

Bake at 350 for 55-60 minutes. When a knife or toothpick comes out clean, you're done.

Notes:

• Yes, it'll rise like a souffle. Don't worry. This is why you put it on a foiled cookie sheet. It'll sink when it cools.
  
• Do NOT roast the sweet potatoes ahead of time and then refrigerate - they get grainy. Also, don't boil instead of roasting - they get stringy. Just put them in the oven. Roasted sweet potatoes taste richer, blend better, and make a prettier pie. (And for God's sake, if you live in NC, don't use canned. Sweet potatoes are cheap and plentiful here, so there's no excuse.)
  
• Some people like it a little sweeter, some less so. I'm not a big fan of supersweet pies, so this isn't one. If you're not concerned about a little raw egg, taste the batter - you may want to throw in some honey or maple syrup.
  
• If you're really picky about plating, you might want to throw in a tablespoon or two of flour to make it cut better. But if you're okay with sloppy slices, it's really better without it.
  
• It's really good with whipped cream, but avoid Cool Whip - it drowns out the spices.

Also: This pie is AWESOME for breakfast. Assuming there's any left over, obviously.