My mom makes a version of this that's very similar, a little simpler, and still very good. She adds a little lemon juice and uses olive oil. She also adds bacon bits for a little crunch... they actually compliment the recipe quite well! One main ingredient not listed here that my mom includes is sauerkraut. A couple cans of this really makes this recipe complete, but that's just my opinion. This also adds that vinegar flavor that viniagrette is known for. Another trick is to boil the beets alone before adding the potato. In my experience, it's taken the beets up to an hour to be fully cooked. I use a taller pan and simmer it covered. I add the potato maybe 20 minutes into boiling. Another tip about beets: you know they're cooked when you can insert a sharp knife in and out of the beet with no resistance. I remove the peels before the beets are cool because it comes off much easier for me.

I love this salad. Delicious and nutritious. If you don't have marinated mushrooms on hand, they can be skipped. The really clutch ingredients are beets, potato, carrots onion, pickles, peas, and oil. But all the other ingredients add their own flavor to the dish. Very good!