Just the other day, my memories on Facebook reminded me that I tried to make pumpkin puree myself many years ago. I thought it would taste better and make the pumpkin pie more impressive on my Thanksgiving table. Unfortunately, it was a failure, and once a year Facebook likes to remind me that it was a failure.

The problem was that I couldn’t get the filling smooth enough, which resulted in a tough cake that honestly didn’t taste that good either. I’m not saying this bug has haunted me ever since, but when it popped up the other day I thought maybe I should give it another chance. I now have more skills in the kitchen and more kitchen appliances, such as a food processor, that could lead me to success.

Then, just a day or two later, my culinary hero, and perhaps yours too, offered advice that basically goes like this: “Don’t even bother.” And who am I to take Ina Garten’s advice ignore?

Ina Garten prefers store-bought pumpkin puree

Garten has no problem using store-bought ingredients if she believes they are just as good as homemade. She even admitted to buying store-bought mashed potatoes, dressing them up and passing them off as homemade. She has also been known to hand out a Trader Joe’s cupcake as a last minute hostess. What can I say? Garden is the hero for every stressed-out home cook trying to put a complete holiday meal on the table.

When Williams recently asked Sonoma Garten which Thanksgiving desserts can be bought at the store — in true Ina style — she was honest about what she likes to buy at the store and what she likes to make from scratch.

“Pumpkin puree isn’t just good, it’s better,” she said. “People think they should cook the pumpkin, but it never turns out right because pumpkin puree is a specific type of pumpkin that is different from what we buy, like for jack-o-lanterns.”

Canned pumpkin puree, the kind we use for pumpkin pie or pumpkin bread, most often comes from Dickinson pumpkins, also known as Dickinson squash. They taste very different than the orange pumpkins we see in grocery stores. In fact, Dickinson squash is more closely related to butternut squash than is orange field squash. No wonder my pumpkin pie all those years ago looked nothing like the pumpkin pies my family knew.

If Garten likes store-bought pumpkin puree, then I don’t see why I should make it from scratch.

Ina Garten’s homemade whipped cream

Many of us top our pumpkin pies and other desserts with whipped cream. To do this, Garten recommends making the whipped cream yourself.

“Whipped cream is so easy to make yourself. Don’t buy it in a can at the store. I have no idea what’s in there,” she said. “It’s just cream. You beat it until it has soft peaks. Add some sugar and vanilla. It’s so much better.”

We agree. If you want to make your own whipped cream but have never done it before, here are eight different ways you can make homemade whipped cream, including making it in a cocktail shaker. Now you can serve pumpkin pie just like garden – made with canned pumpkin and real whipped cream.