Ingredients

Vegetable oil, for frying
12 pieces fresh pumpkin (about 4 inches long and 1-inch thick), cooked until tender
Salt
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, beaten
1 cup ice-sold soda (seltzer) water
1/2 cup Cinnamon and Sugar mixture (**equal parts)
1 recipe Cinnamon Ice Cream, recipe follows

1 cup warm Caramel Sauce, recipe follows
Shaker confectioners' sugar

Directions

Preheat the fryer to 360 degrees
F.

Season the pumpkin pieces with salt. In a medium-size mixing bowl, combine the flour,
cornstarch, sugar, salt, egg, and soda water and mix well to make a smooth batter. Dip
each piece of pumpkin in the batter, shaking off any excess. Carefully lay the slices in
the hot oil. Fry in batches until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Remove and drain on paper
towels. Season with some of the cinnamon-sugar mixture.

Place a scoop of ice cream in the center of each serving bowl. Lay 3 pieces of the pumpkin
next to the ice cream. Drizzle the entire bowl with the Caramel Sauce. Garnish with
confectioners' sugar.

Ingredients

Cinnamon Ice Cream:
4 cups half-and-half
1 cup sugar
Pinch salt

5 egg yolks
2 teaspoons freshly ground cinnamon

Directions

In a nonreactive
saucepan, combine the half and half, sugar, and salt, over medium heat. Bring the cream
to the boiling point and scald it. Remove from the heat.

Beat the egg yolks and cinnamon in a bowl. Add the half-and-half mixture, about 1/4 cup at
a time, to the beaten eggs, whisking in between each addition, until all is used. Pour the
mixture back into the saucepan, and cook, stirring, over medium heat, for 2 to 3 minutes,
or until the mixture becomes thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from the
heat and cool completely. Pour the filling into the ice cream machine and follow the
manufacture's instructions for churning time.

Yield: about 1/2 gallon

Ingredients

Caramel Sauce:
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
1 cup heavy cream

Directions

In a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan,

combine the sugar and water and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring often. Cook,
stirring occasionally, until the mixture is a deep caramel color and has the consistency
of a thin syrup, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the cream, return the
saucepan to the high heat, and boil the sauce until it regains the consistency of a thick
syrup, about 2 minutes.

Yield: about 3/4 cup

Recipe adapted from Creole Christmas Cookbook, by Emeril Lagasse, with Marcelle Bienvenu,
published by William Morrow, 1997