About Kathy and the Next Generation

Kathy Borich credits her love of cooking to her Italian/French grandmother, “who raised me among the powdered lace of drying pasta and the warm earth of a backyard tomato garden.” Her passion for the movies began with Saturday matinees on dreary Chicago Saturdays, along with the tingling thrill of 3D horror movies in darkened aisles, not to mention the Von Lee theatre in Bloomington, Indiana, where she first fell in love with Ingmar Bergman, James Bond, and her husband Gary, not necessarily in that order.

Kathy next spent twenty-two years in her English classroom luring reluctant readers to the joys of Voltaire, Dickens, and Chaucer by spicing up the dry pages of literature with authentic cuisine. Her students discovered Candide along with handmade crepes whipped up in predawn darkness and nibbled their way through Jane Eyre with Victorian teas featuring oven-fresh scones and jam tarts.

This proved so effective with her students that Kathy decided to try this approach with the classic mystery novels she loved, eventually writing Appetite for Murder: A Mystery Lover’s Cookbook (Virtualbookworm.com Publishing ISBN 1-58939-499-2). In this tantalizing slant on cooking and crime, readers relive their favorite detective fiction and then whip up the food that caught the culprit.

Now Kathy takes that same passion to another field for the ultimate Cinema Cuisine Connection. Her reviews of current, classic and crime film in DifferentDrummer.cc offer a fresh insight peppered with deep knowledge of classic literature, irreverent humor, and skepticism of the film establishment. Kathy will help you discover that gem of a movie not showered with media attention or reinforce your gut instinct that the critic's choice is a bomb. You may find her at odds with effusive elites and sneering critics alike, you may not always agree with her, but you will always enjoy her fresh approach to film fare.

And speaking of fresh fare, get ready to relive your film experience in the recipes that follow each review. Kathy chooses a signature dish from each film and presents easy to follow directions to recreate it for a cozy meal at home or for that special dinner party. Enjoy a midnight delectable when you return from the cinema, or pop in authentic appetizers with your DVD.

Appreciate the tart piquancy of lemon meringue pie as you see it as a mirror to Clint Eastwood’s soul in Million Dollar Baby. Find out why mobster wives might have had such complicated recipes in our wonderful “Leave the Gun. Take the Cannoli Recipe,” or two secret ingredients for Italian Sunday Gravy, one from a Godfather gumba and the other from my mother.

  Or enjoy the exotic spice of an updated version of curried mutton as you learn how it is the key to solving one of Sherlock Holmes’ most famous cases.

The Peanut Gallery

The Peanut Gallery was how Buffalo Bob, a character from that 1950s Howdy Doody television show, referred to studio audience of children.  I have since found out that the term goes back to vaudeville and was a nickname for the cheapest seats in the theatre, whose occupants were most likely to heckle those on stage, often throwing peanuts at the performers.  Phrases like “no comments from the peanut gallery,” or “quiet in the peanut gallery,” still echo from my childhood.

Our Texas Peanut Gallery of critics is anything but quiet, though, and we welcome their comments ­­– after the show, of course.

Gram, (middle in the back row) is a sports fanatic.  Right now the 19 year old is a pitcher known for his fastball and his dramatic windup on the mound.  His film judgments are as hard and swift as his pitches, too.

Weston, (left in the back row) loves to observe life.  The 17 year old has a wry sense of humor, and whether he has his nose buried in a book, or is dribbling on the basketball court, he is on top of the situation.  Like his famous lefty basketball layups, Weston’s movie tips will score points with readers.

Emmett (right in the back row) loves history and piano.  The 16-year-old also does a pretty good soft shoe, too, once earning 7 dollars dancing on a corner near Broadway in New York City.  Like his music and dance, he brings balance and harmony to his reviews.

Ava (left in front row) devours life fearlessly.  The 14-year-old has an insatiable zest for life and brings the same passion and clarity to her reviews as she does her to gymnastics, singing, and Rodeo “Mutton Busting.”  Not much gets past this once petite fireball.

Jack (right in front row) , currently 13, is never at a loss for words.  Several years ago, after he woke up from a mid movie nap, Jack began commenting on the action without a pause –a legacy from his maternal great grandfather, Jack Griffey. The middle school crowd will get the lowdown from Jack.