Mushroom Dinner at Vivo - it is taking all I have to avoid a "funghi" / "fun guy" pun

I had the opportunity to prepare a meal in the kitchen of Vivo restaurant (Bellevue, PA - see 2/1/09 posting) with chef/owner Sam DiBatista and chef Daniel Aguera (www.dinnerwithdaniel.com). The theme was mushrooms, and the menu centered on some beautiful mushrooms (royal trumpets, maitake, beech, and pompom) provided by Wild Purveyors. The event was $60 a head and included two appetizers, two main courses, a dessert, and an awesome experience. The event was BYOB.
I'll get back to the food in a few lines, but allow me to digress and discuss the experience in whole. I had never been in a professional kitchen, and I expected it to be sterile and overbearing. To the contrary, the kitchen at Vivo is warm and inspiring. Some of the walls are painted a deep rust color, and there are fun articles and interesting "fortunes" from cookies on one of the walls. It felt like someone had pimped my grandma's kitchen - all the warmth of her kitchen, and all the perks and quality of a professional kitchen. The fact that Sam, his wife and co-owner, and his daughter were all in the kitchen for this event surely added to the inviting feel.
The chefs themselves added to the experience as well. They were friendly, funny, informative, and very excited about what they were cooking. It was nice to see that excitement, considering both of them have been in the business for so long and considering that they were sharing the kitchen with 16 strangers for the night.
The experience was also supplemented by the presence of Cavin and Tom of Wild Purveyors. They spoke a bit about the mushrooms they provided and answered any and all fungi-related questions.
Ok, back to the food....When the cooking began, it was laid back yet efficient, and the appetizers were under way in no time. In no way do I consider myself an aficionado of culinary anything, but I know my way around a kitchen and I like to eat good food. I don't shy away from odd ingredients. Having said that, when Chef Sam asked us (I brought a like-minded friend to enjoy the experience and to act as a DD if need be) to clean the fiddle-head ferns, I was a bit overwhelmed. As in A) What is a fiddle head fern? and B) How do I clean it? I still don't know what it is, but to clean it you snap the end off and remove the dirt as best you can. It tasted like a cross between an asparagus and a green bean, and it was delicious and sweet. It was incorporated into a mixture of grilled maitake (my favorite of the night for their hearty goodness) and roasted garlic scape vinaigrette (prepared by chef Daniel and soooo good) and served on endive. The other appetizer was sautéed royal trumpet mushrooms on grilled bread with raclette. Both were wonderful.
The main courses were a grilled bison slider with gorgonzola and a sautéed pom pom and a dish that was called dumplings with beech mushrooms. The slider was good, but I lost the taste of the pom pom in the gorgonzola. The "dumplings", however, were something very special. They started off easily enough with flour, water, and salt. Chef Sam added the mixture to water boiling in a risotto pan. I thought he was going to drain the water later or fish the pasta out with a strainer. But, he cooked the flour mixture in the water like he would risotto, and in the end the consistency was that of risotto - creamy. Unbelievably so considering the fact that he didn't add any cheese. He stirred in some marinara and served the mushrooms on top. It was a peasant dish my grandmother would be proud of, and I loved every bite of it.
The dessert was a white truffle panna cotta prepared by Chef Daniel. The truffle was not provided by Wild Purveyors, but by what I assume to have been an illegal and or expensive act. I don't care about the who or how - that mushroom dessert was incredible. The truffle was especially delicate for what a strong and distinct flavor it is. The panna cotta smooth and silky and delicious, and was complemented with a toffee-like drizzle of hardened caramel. Or something like that. I lost focus once I spooned into the panna cotta, and I like to avoid speaking about caramels and toffees, as they, along with mayonnaise, are my culinary white whales.
All in all, it was a fun and informative night with great food and people. Check out Vivo's Facebook or MySpace page for future "Cooking with the Chef" events, and to see pictures of this event.