The Great Pumpkin Search 2009

Well, yesterday was the first official day of Fall.  HOORAY!!!!  It’s my favorite season and I’ve been itching to start making fall-inspired goodies.   BUT who would have ever guessed that there would be a canned pumpkin shortage?  Especially so early in the year- I mean it’s only September, we’re no where near Thanksgiving yet!!

Recently on the What’s Cooking board the talk of pumpkin has skyrocketed.  Lots of girls have started making yummy pumpkin treats and it got me in the pumpkin mood!!!  I’ve been meaning to make a cheesecake (for forever now!!!) and figured why not make a pumpkin cheesecake?!  After looking over the ingredients I knew I needed at least one can of pumpkin puree and that’s when the search began.

I searched 4 different grocery stores and came out empty handed, but I didn’t let that stop me.  I decided I wouldn’t be defeated that easily and figured I’d just make it myself.
With a little help from the Pioneer Woman, I was able to roast 2 pie pumpkins and get a very nice amount of pumpkin puree.

Pumpkin Cheesecake- get ready! ‘Cause here I come!!!

Pumpkin Puree
(I used 2 pumpkins to be sure I got enough for my cheesecake(s).)

First: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

Slice the tops of each pumpkin (toss or set aside)
Then cut each pumpkin in half, then cut each of those pieces in half, leaving you with quarters
I then used my ice-cream scoop to scrape out the seeds and stringy mess from inside the pumpkins.  I saved the seeds though!!! I plan on roasting those tonight!!

Once you’ve cleaned out the insides of the pumpkins, set them on a baking pan- skin down/pumpkin meat up.
Put them in the center rack and let them roast for 45 minutes or fork tender (It took me about 55 minutes)
Once they were done I removed them from the oven and let them cool for about 10 minutes, but I did notice that the longer they sat, the harder it was to get the skin off.
Once they’re cool enough to handle, start peeling off the skins.  Make sure to get as MUCH meat as you can- you don’t want to waste any 😉
Now just take the chunks of peeled pumpkin and put them into the food processor.  I did this in 3 batches.
I didn’t use my pumpkin puree right away so I put it in an airtight container and set it inside my fridge.  I’ll be using it later this week 🙂

So thats it!!!! Super simple, very very easy!!!
One tip: If you think your pumpkin is too wet/liquidy feel free to strain it using a cheesecloth of a very fine mesh strainer.   If on the other end- it’s too dry, add a few tablespoons of water until you reach the right consistency.