Pumpkin Custard Pie with Green Cardamom Ice Cream

Serves 8-12

• The pie dough
• 21/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 pound cold butter, cubed
• 1/4 pound shortening
• 1/2 cup ice water
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• The pumpkin filling
• 2 cups pumpkin puree, fresh or canned (if fresh, finely pureed and passed through a food mill or strainer)
• 2/3 cup maple syrup
• 11/3 cups heavy cream
• 2/3 cup whole milk
• 5 eggs
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/3 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/3 teaspoon ground ginger
• 11/3 teaspoons cinnamon
• -- Green Cardamom Ice Cream (see recipe)

For the pie crust dough: Preheat oven to 350°. In a small mixing bowl, add flour, butter and shortening. Mix with a fork until you achieve a cornmeal-like consistency. Add ice water and salt, and mix together with hands until combined. Turn out onto a flour surface, form dough into a disk, and wrap in plastic. Allow to rest for 1/2 hour.

Roll out dough to about 1/8-inch thick and place into a 9-inch pie pan, crimping the edges decoratively. Cut parchment paper into a circle the size of the bottom of the pie pan and place on top of the dough. Fill pan halfway with dried beans. Bake in the oven until crust is golden brown, about 35 minutes. Remove the parchment and the beans and allow the crust to cool completely.

For the pumpkin pie: Heat the pumpkin puree in a stainless-steel pot over medium-low heat. Add maple syrup, cream and milk, and stir until combined. Bring just to a simmer. Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, whisk eggs and sugar until well combined. Add flour and spices and whisk all lumps out. Slowly add the warm pumpkin mixture, whisking constantly. Pour into the prebaked pie shell and cook at 375° for 45 minutes or until outside is set and middle is a little jiggly. Serve with Green Cardamom Ice Cream.

Per serving: 475 calories, 7 g protein, 47 g carbohydrate, 30 g fat (14 g saturated), 147 mg cholesterol, 401 mg sodium, 1 g fiber.

Green Cardamom Ice Cream

Makes about 1 quart

Green cardamom pods can be purchased in Asian markets such as 99 Ranch. The ice cream base can be made a day ahead, then churned in an ice cream maker on Thanksgiving Day.

• 1/4 cup green cardamom pods
• 6 cups heavy cream
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
• 10 egg yolks

Instructions: Toast cardamom in a pan over medium heat for 3-4 minutes until fragrant; set aside.

Combine cream and sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil, and add cardamom and vanilla. Remove from heat and steep for at least 15 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk yolks until smooth. Slowly pour cream mixture into the yolks in a steady stream, whisking constantly, then return the entire mixture back to pot, whisking. Simmer over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Pour through a strainer and into a container. Cool down either in an ice water bath or off the heat, stirring occasionally. Once it has reached room temperature, place in the refrigerator to cool completely.

Place in ice cream machine and process according to manufacturer's instructions. Store in freezer if not serving right away. Serve with Pumpkin Custard Pie.