It’s November, and Thanksgiving is early this year. If you’re anything like me, you’re already making mental checklists of everything you want/need (really, is there any difference?) to cook and bake for this holiday that beats all other holidays, culinarily speaking.

I’ll be baking a pie this week on local television. (For those of you who want to see the segment, I’ll link to it when it’s on-line.) In preparation for Thanksgiving, and since I now reside in New England, birthplace of the pumpkin in this country, I’ll be making the fall classic– pumpkin pie.

But this post is not about the pie part of pumpkin pie; it’s about the pumpkin. For those of you who have never roasted a pumpkin, I implore you to give it a try this year. Homemade pumpkin puree is richer, smoother, more pumpkin-y. It really is delicious– and so easy to make there is hardly a recipe for it. You just have to make sure that you buy the correct type of pumpkin. You don’t want to eat the jack-o-lantern sort (very stringy!), you want a sugar pumpkin, also known appropriately as a pie pumpkin.

These are the diminutive, round sort, that are found in the produce section of your supermarket, or at farmer’s market this time of year. They usually weigh between 3 and 5 pounds.

To roast a sugar pumpkin, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. With a sharp knife, cut off the stem end, then slice the pumpkin in half. Scoop out all the guts, and discard them. Place the pumpkin, cut side down, on a baking sheet. Roast for anywhere from 45-70 minutes. The time will depend on the size. You want the pumpkin to be soft, and completely cooked. You should be able to pierce it easily with a fork.

When finished, the skin should simply peel from the flesh, but let the pumpkin cool slightly, you don’t want scorched fingertips.  Puree the pulp until smooth in a food processor. The next step is a bit time consuming, but in my opinion, very important. You have to let the puree drain for a few hours, or overnight, in a cheesecloth-lined colander. Pumpkin contains a lot of water– too much water, if you ask me. If you’re going to use the puree for pie filling, you want it as concentrated and dry as possible. Draining the puree is necessary so the filling doesn’t lead to a soggy crust.

Once the draining is complete, you’re good to go. The puree lasts in the refrigerator for a few days, or it can be frozen for a few months. Give roasting a pumpkin a try– your pies will thank you!