Spinach Salad with Citrus and Spicy Pecans

In our church, we have a potluck every Sabbath. I enjoy potlucks, and one thing that I've noticed here is that most of the time, we are lacking in the salad and vegetable department. So, I have challenged myself to bring only vegetables and salads. This is leading me to discover many new salad recipes. (If anyone has any great vegetable recipes for potluck, please share.) I love taking a recipe and making it my own.  Today, I took two spinach salad recipes (here and here) and combined them, coming up with one that I thought was delicious. Of course, when I cook, I also don't measure, so here are the approximations of what I used:


Salad:
1 package spinach leaves, fresh (OR 2 cups torn Romaine Lettuce)
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 can of mandarin oranges

2 tablespoon butter

1 teaspoon sugar

1 cup pecan halves

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

salt and pepper

Dressing:
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 tablespoons seasoned rice wine vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil (preferably extra virgin)
2 teaspoons honey

Directions:

Prepare spinach leaves, onion and oranges in a large serving bowl. Heat a small sauce pan over medium heat and melt the butter and sugar, stirring. Once the butter is melted, add the pecans and toss until they begin to brown. Sprinkle in the rosemary and cayenne and stir just a few seconds to release the aroma. Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle the pecans on the salad, pour on salad dressing and serve. 

To take this salad, I kept the oranges, pecans, and salad dressing in separate containers and mixed just prior to serving.