Thanksgiving Day Pumpkin Pie

No one is neutral about pumpkin pie—people either love or hate it. I fall into the former category and often dream of the smooth spicy filling in midsummer and wish I had frozen some cooked pumpkin the previous fall.

In truth, I use canned, cooked pumpkin as often as I do fresh. If you wish to use fresh pumpkin, make sure you get an orange-fleshed sugar pumpkin or pie pumpkin, available in the fall at farmers’ markets and at roadside stands. Don’t, under any circumstance, use a jack