Pie Are Squared: Turtle Pie

For Thanksgiving, I wanted to make something extra delicious. And chocolatey. I scoured the internet for a delicious chocolate pie but didn't really find anything that fit all the criteria I was looking for. Or I'd find a delicious looking one that didn't include a recipe. So I ended up kind of making one up.
I realized that was I was really craving was the turtle cheesecake. They used to sell the whole cake at Sam's Club; now all I can find are the little square bites. You know, oreo crust, cheesecake topped with chocolate chips, pecans, and caramel? Well, for some reason that I can't remember now, I didn't want cheesecake, so I made an alternative, cheesecakeless version.
First, a regular crust that I prebaked using my new pie weights! I actually bought them a while ago, but this is their maiden voyage. The crust still kind of melted down the sides, but it wasn't too bad. I wanted to do a fun, decorative edge, but I couldn't think of anything, so I just made the regular fluting bigger.
Then, I made dulce de leche by pressure cooking a can of sweetened condensed milk for 30 minutes. I put a layer of that in the bottom of the crust and topped it with mini chocolate chips and chopped pecans.

Then, I prepared a chocolate mousse and poured that on top of the caramelly mixture. Top again with chocolate chips, pecans, and more dulce de leche.

It was pretty good. But very rich. And I found myself wishing it had more of a cheesecakey texture. Sort of like that turtle cheesecake I'd been imagining.
Why didn't I just make it a cheesecake? I have no idea.
I still have half of the pie in my fridge. Yeah, I know, it's been two weeks.

Ratings:

Flavor: 8

Execution: 9. Looked like the kind of pie you'd want to get at a restaurant...even if you end up regretting it because it is too rich to finish.

Difficulty: Medium. The mousse kind of took a bit of finagling, but not too bad, really.

Overall rating: *** 3 out of 5 stars.

Pie Are Squared: Strawberry Lover's Pie

This was a departure from the Sweety Pies book. My sister was coming into town and asked for a chocolate pie. She rejected every chocolate pie in my book (there are actually only three), so I ventured elsewhere.
This pie was okay. I feel like it took too many steps for a mediocre product. And just so you know, that is NOT Hershey's syrup drizzled on the top. It is melted chocolate chips, on top of a raspberry jam glaze, which is on top of fresh strawberries, which are on top of a cream cheese/sour cream mixture, which is in a chocolate painted crust.
See what I mean by too many steps?
The pie was good, but not THAT good.

Ratings:

Flavor: 6

Execution: 8. The drizzling really wasn't pretty.

Difficulty: Easy, but it takes a while.

Overall rating: *** 3 out of 5 stars.

French Silk Pie

This was a delicious pie. I just found the recipe online, since I invited some family over who is quite picky but loves chocolate.
I did encounter a problem, though. This is my first pie that required a prebaked crust. I didn't have pie weights or even some beans to prevent crust bubbling, so I just pierced it well. So, the bottom of the crust didn't bubble up, but the sides kind of crumpled, leading to unpretty pie.

Obviously, it didn't affect the flavor, but I'm trying to go for tasty and pretty here. And I really don't know what to do about it. Even if I had official pie weights, they wouldn't counteract the forces of gravity. I'm going to have to do some research.
Ratings:

Flavor: 10

Execution: 7-the filling was great, but the aforementioned cascading of pie sides disappointed me.

Difficulty: Moderate

Overall rating: ***** 5 out of 5 stars.