In their minds, roasting your own pumpkin is close to killing your own chickens, curing your own corned beef, or canning your own applesauce. They think it's too much work, they invariably mention that you can buy these items in the store, carefully sanitized and wrapped in plastic.
I haven't killed my own chickens, yet. I've never made my own corned beef, but I have made my own applesauce. And I can tell you that homemade applesauce is hands-down better than anything I can buy in the store. And yes, I do roast my own pumpkins.
Now, granted, I know the guy that grows my pumpkins. I buy most of my produce at the farmer's market, and 80% of what I buy comes from one stand. I trust his food, and I've rarely been disappointed. So in October or so when pumpkins start showing up there, I ask him which pumpkins to buy. This week, when he had a basket full of pie pumpkins, I bought six. Now I'm having buyers remorse. I wish I had bought them all.
You can let an anonymous company grow your pumpkins, cook them, put them in a can and ship them to the store you will buy them from. It's tough to beat that from a convenience and price standpoint. Or you can get to know your local vendors and roast them yourself. You'll gain better flavor, you'll get to know the people that are growing your food (always a good thing,) and it really isn't that hard. Look, roasting a pumpkin is far less work than any dessert you've made. If you can bake a potato, you can roast a pumpkin. And it's presumably far less mess than killing your own chickens.
Pre-heat your oven to 375. Break the stem off the pumpkin. It doesn't taste good. Take a sharp knife and split the pumpkin into two halves. Take a spoon and clean out the seeds and stringy stuff. If you like roasted pumpkin seeds, set those aside, otherwise throw that mess away. Line a baking sheet with foil (not necessary, but it helps in clean up,) put the pumpkin halves on it, cut side down. Put the baking sheet with the pumpkins on it into the oven and walk away. Let them cook until soft, probably an hour to an hour and a half. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
When it's cool enough to handle, turn the pumpkin halves cut side up. Use a spoon to separate the flesh from the skin. If you're going to be using the flesh this week, put it in the fridge. If longer, puree the flesh and put it in the freezer for up to six months. Seriously, nobody thinks you've gone off the deep end because you bake your own sweet potatoes, and this is about the same process.
If you plan ahead, you can roast your pumpkin while you're making dinner one night, to save on energy and time. If you're making a lasagna or anything else that sits in the oven for a long time, roast your pumpkin at the same time, then store the flesh. You'll be glad you did.
I've been working on pumpkin pie for a while. If your grandmother and I were going to throw down over pie, this is what I'd bring to the fight. I got it from my mother-in-law first, then found the cookbook at a used book sale. Only later did I learn that The New York Times Cookbook by Craig Claiborne was a staple for a generation. My understanding is that Claiborne got a huge amount of the recipes in this book from Pierre Franey, who doesn't even show up in the acknowledgements. The original has an enormous amount of cream in it, so I secretly hope this was one of Franey's creations. I've backed off the cream a little to make the custard set up more firmly.
Pumpkin Pie Recipe
Crust:
1 ⅔ C. instant flour (such as Wondra)7 Tbsp. + 1 ½ tsp. butter-flavored shortening
1 tsp. salt
2 scant tsp. nonfat dry milk powder
1 ½ tsp. light corn syrup
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
¼ C. + 2 tsp. water
Process the flour and the shortening in a food processor until crumbly, rather worked in.
In a measuring cup, stir together the salt, nonfat dry milk, corn syrup, vinegar, and water. Add this liquid to the flour mixture a little at a time, processing well after each addition. Process until the dough comes together. (I've found that it remains crumbly, and needs to be pressed together.)
Roll out the crust between two pieces of parchment paper.
Custard:
2 large eggs½ C. sugar
2 tbsp. molasses
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. allspice
¼ tsp. grated nutmeg
16 oz. cooked pumpkin (You can use canned pumpkin, if you must. Don't use the kind with spices already added.)
1 C. Cream (Franey calls for light cream, but I like heavy cream.)
Puree all the custard ingredients together.
Pre-heat your oven to 400.
Fit the pie crust into a pie pan. Make the edges look pretty.
Pour the custard into the shell, put into the oven. Bake 30-35 minutes. The edges of the pie should be completely set, and the center should be just a little wobbly. It'll set as it cools.
You should probably serve some fresh whipped cream with it after Thanksgiving dinner, but I normally skip the whipped cream when I'm eating it for breakfast.
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