Can I use any sort of pumpkin for pumpkin pie?
You may use all sorts of pumpkins and squashes (a Cucurbita moschata or Cucurbita pepo may be called either, depending on variety) to make a pie.  The Halloween types may not be the best choice: they tend to be stringy, not very sweet, and sometimes over treated with pesticides. Instead look for the small varieties (around 5 lbs.) called Sugar, Long Pie, or Trickster.

When making the pumpkin pur&eacute;e for a pie from scratch it is important to deal with the water content of the pumpkin.  After you bake, cool, and pur&eacute;e the pumpkin, you may need to use a cheesecloth to wring the pur&eacute;e.