warm mushroom salad

In the fall and winter months I love making salads with a warm component: roasted or sauteed vegetables, or a warm vinaigrette. In this case the earthy flavor of mushrooms combine well with some nice crisp apples (from our recent apple picking). I can't lie...the kids were not fans of this one...but sometimes I need to cook for the grown ups! I started with a bed of micro arugula, some sliced crisp green apples, dried cranberries, and toasted pecans. I sauteed some sliced red onion and gorgeous little shitake mushrooms (remove the tough stems first) in olive oil and seasoned them with a little salt and pepper. When the mushrooms were nicely browned I added few tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and poured the mixture over the salad. Toss until the leaves are all dressed and serve.