Pork Chops with herbs

I have needed to do some fast cooking these days, as I have been pressed for time so often. Tonight I fried pork chops (boneless loin chops from Niman Ranch) in butter (I have been using cultured, unsalted butter - never use salted butter. If you need salt, add salt. The salt in butter is used simply to extend shelf life and can mask rancidity, which can destroy a dish) and then dressed them with this:

1. Chopped winter savory, French rue, lovage leaves, fresh thyme, fresh sage, fresh Italian parsley, fresh marjoram.
2. Greek Kalamata Extra Virgin Olive Oil (good cooking oil, cheap at Trader Joe's)
3. A dash of balsamico (the good stuff, decidedly not from Trader Joe's)

and served them with a simple salad (mesclun with Dijon, balsamic (this one Trader Joe's) vinegar, and kalamata EV olive oil and a sweet batard. The wine was Croc Rock Shiraz (another good cheapo from Trader Joe's). It took a total of 25 minutes to cook and was delicious.

I also want to share with you how I have been doing sausage recently. My preference is to grill sausage over a wood fire, but the rain has put a damper on my enthusiasm there, so I have been browning them, then adding a generous splash of dry Marsala, covering the pan and simmering until done. Not only does it make the sausages taste great, but it yields a nice simple sauce for dipping bread into.

I have also been experimenting with my own sausage blends, but have yet to make one with Marsala (I ran out of Marsala and keep forgetting to get more when we are at the store), but I will report once I have done so.