Yes, the rule of thumb that I use: all custards made with raw eggs are fine in the coldest part of your fridge, for at least 5 days. Baking cold custard is fine - you don't have to "take the chill off," but you should stir it quite well before baking, as custards separate. I always blind-bake my custard filled pies, so temperature of custard barely matters.
I've made the filling and pastry ahead, then rolled it out, filled and baked on the day. I store it in a covered measuring cup, so it's easily poured into the crust. As others have said, take the filling out of the fridge an hour or so ahead - and also, give it a good stir or whisk before filling.
You can make the pumpkin pie filling a day ahead. That's what restaurants and commercial bakeries usually do.
And yes, you can make the pie dough ahead as well.
Like some others, I follow the school of baking pies "the day of." Since it seems like you have time to bake it the day of, I'd go ahead and do the filling before.
If you just want to make the filling the day before, and bake the pie on the day you eat it, that's fine, too. Refrigerate it immediately; you might also want to take it out of the fridge an hour or so before baking, to take the chill off of it.
Are you using a standard recipe where you just mix all the ingredients and pour them into the pie crust? I've never seen a recipe where you beat egg whites separately and fold them in. That would be the only caveat to making the custard the day before; in that case, I'd do everything but beat/fold in the egg whites, doing the latter immediately before baking.
Let us know how it turns out! Happy Thanksgiving! ;o)
In reference to Meta Given's Pumpkin Pie, our Creative Director Kristen has said: "The pie holds fine overnight in the refrigerator (I'm not kidding that I like it cold for breakfast, but maybe that's me!) but you'll probably want to take it out of the fridge at least an hour before serving to let it come down to room temperature. Hope you like it -- please report back!" -- I think that would apply to any other pumpkin pie as well!
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And yes, you can make the pie dough ahead as well.
Like some others, I follow the school of baking pies "the day of." Since it seems like you have time to bake it the day of, I'd go ahead and do the filling before.
Are you using a standard recipe where you just mix all the ingredients and pour them into the pie crust? I've never seen a recipe where you beat egg whites separately and fold them in. That would be the only caveat to making the custard the day before; in that case, I'd do everything but beat/fold in the egg whites, doing the latter immediately before baking.
Let us know how it turns out! Happy Thanksgiving! ;o)