Top that! 6 garnishes are as easy as pie

Want to accessorize your plain-Jane pie? By the time everyone has had their fill of turkey and mashed potatoes, you can let everyone dish themselves wedges of pumpkin pie with a squirt of whipped cream and call it good.

But it only takes a few minutes to plate that pie with a few garnishes and toppings that will add some pizazz.

"Pumpkin pie actually goes well with a lot of things that you normally wouldn't think of," said Londa Davis, a Kaysville caterer who has given demonstrations on pie presentations. Here are six of her suggestions:

1. Cranberries & Cream: Boil a package of fresh cranberries in water until they pop. Drain the water, put the cranberries back on the stove and mash to desired consistency. Stir in a cup of sugar, or to taste. To a package of cream cheese, add sugar to taste. Spoon the cranberry sauce on the pie and add a spoonful of cream cream. Serve cold or warm.

2. Chocolate, Spice & Everything Nice: To 2 cups of whipped cream, add 2 tablespoons powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Swirl chocolate syrup on the plate in spiral circles (Hershey's right out of the squeeze bottle works great). Place the pie on top of the spirals.

Spoon whipped cream on pie, then sprinkle with mini-chocolate chips. For fans of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, you'll get the same flavor in pie form.

3. Caramel & Toffee Crunch: Squiggle caramel sauce on the plate from a squirt bottle, or drizzle on with a fork. Place pumpkin on the plate, then top with whipped cream and sprinkle with crushed bits of Heath toffee candy bar.

4. Dark With Light: Top with shavings of dark and white chocolate. To make chocolate curls from a block of chocolate, rub the heel of your hand over the chocolate surface to warm it up slightly, or zap it in the microwave for a few seconds, to make it slightly softer. Pull a vegetable peeler along the side of the chocolate block. The bigger the piece of chocolate, the bigger your curls can be.

5. Vanilla Almond: Add a dollop of vanilla yogurt and top with a sugared almond. You can buy nuts already glazed in grocery stores, or glaze them yourself ahead of time.

6. Sometimes You Feel Like a Nut: Cover the plate with Nutella hazelnut spread. Place the pie on top and sprinkle with hazelnuts.

But don't stop here. Raid your cupboard for more garnishing ideas and let your imagination be your guide. How about:

Drizzle cinnamon-flavored syrup on the plate.