HOT DINNERS!! THIS IS SO EXCITING!!!

i'm sorry for the friday morning blog. i know, i know, two blogs in one week is a bit much... 
BUT HOT DINNERS!! 
THIS IS SO EXCITING!!! 

we have been mulling. we have been brainstorming. we have been scheming and conspiring inside catchy.'s doors. AND IT IS SO EXCITING!!! can you tell we are a little over the top about this new development?

we built our reputation years ago on a little something called MOM'S NIGHT OFF! it was a gourmet dinner service and it took off like gangbusters offering mom's a few dinner options once a week. when we opened our doors last december, we transferred that idea to a takeaway case and for the first year in business, it was just swell. but it's getting a little, what's the word, hum drum. well, at least for me it is. three or four dinner options in a cold takeaway case was GREAT for some families who wanted the convenience of our great food and didn't mind heating it up in the microwave. but for others who want a piping hot dinner, we just couldn't accomodate them in our first year. UNTIL NOW.
 
what?? SHUT UP? no, you shut up. 
THIS IS SO EXCITING!!!

HOT HOT HOT DINNERS!!! you heard me right. HOT DINNERS. starting next tuesday we are rolling out MOM'S NIGHT OFF! once more and we will be offering not one, but TWO piping hot dinner specials you can order for pick up or delivery every tuesday, wednesday, thursday AND friday night!! you're kidding me you ask?? no. no i am not. 

along with all our regular salads, soups, chicken fingers and sandwich options that can be ordered off the menu, you now have the opportunity to order blazing hot, bubbly goodness from catchy.'s weekly dinner menu. annnnnddd, in addition to the two hot specials, also always available are:
1) cheesy, ricotta-filled raviolis in our sunday gravy
2) rigatoni bolognese
3) spaghetti and veal & ricotta meatballs

customer: "so what you are really telling me is there are FIVE hot dinner options?

me: "YES!!! YES THERE ARE!!"

so here's how it works: menu is sent out as usual monday morning. you can order by phone (201.445.6400) or email. you can order first thing in the morning. you can order at 6:55pm that night when you realize the game is going into overtime and you have nothing for dinner (have it delivered to your front door and pay by credit card). any time of day from 11am-7pm you can order either of the two specials oran order of any of the three pasta options always available. give your husband our number (201.445.6400) and have him call from the train and have it waiting for him when he gets to his car. we couldn't be making this any simpler for you.

you know our dinners are spectacular, but you know what makes them even better?? being sizzling hot & bubbling - and oh yeah - still delivered to your doorstep. and we have checked with the competition, our portions are better priced, fresher & dare we say it (yes we do), way more delicious (taste tested today and results are in!)!!

NEXT WEEK'S MENU: 
"ITALY IN THE HOUSE"
TUESDAY JAN 10th - FRIDAY JAN 14th
* parmesan crusted chicken cutlets over
penne a la vodka
* baked shrimp scampi over a bed of linguine

(available every day, every week) 
* rigatoni bolognese
*cheesy, ricotta-filled raviolis in sunday gravy
* spaghetti marinara with veal & ricotta meatballs

so get ready for catchy. to, once more, make life just a little bit easier for you all. if you are a salad gal but your husband & oldest always need something hot however you also have a picky toddler, then order up some chicken fingers, a few hot dinners & a baja chicken salad and make EVERYONE happy! just doing what we do best...feeding the masses one delicious, fresh meal at a time.

call 201.445.6400 for more details.
 

2017...she is here.

2017...she is here

man, december was bananas but it was a banner month! the shop celebrated its one year anniversary. the cafe was bustling with sit down lunches, takeout & more online orders from seamless & grubhub than ever before. there were 62 parties, banquets & balls and catchy. did more catering than any other month in our history by 28%! all that anddd I still managed to find time to move that freaking elf every night (okay, every other night) and celebrate our first christmas in our new house. we got some serious sh*t done in december.

but now january is upon us. the kids are back at school.  resolutions have been made (by some) and it's time to devote the next month to your taking some time for yourself to get your body (and maybe your mind) to where you want it after devoting everything you had to everyone else in the house. that said, catchy. wants to get in on the change process. personally speaking, after a year of giving everything i've got to this shop, i'm putting myself on the calendar too. i got myself a ten pack of personal training sessions with the legendary ozzy (www.ozfit.com) who's killer workouts are located right in the arena on route 17 south, and i had my very first one-on-one this morning at 5am. le-GIT!! i can't really type much longer as i have no feeling in my arms but i'll give it my best. it's time to prioritize ourselves people and there is no time like the present. 

what we have in store for you in the new year is going to blow your mind. think: MORE TIME.  AMPLE FOOD CHOICES. HOT HOT HOT. that's all i'm going to give you but suffice is to say if you know how to pick up the phone and call 201.445.6400 when you are stuck at your basketball carpool at around 4:38pm and need delicious, possibly hot (oops, you didn't hear it here) dinner asap for your hungry troops, our new cadre of delivery kids and our chefs will combine to make your dinner time one of the easiest, happiest parts of your day. and that will give you some time to zone into your headspace app (rather than stress about how to feed your family )and meditate or maybe find a way to sneak in 20 minutes upstairs on the treadmill when you get home. 

catchy. aims to make this year one of the best for each and every mom & dad who works their tail to the bone. we have been brainstorming to figure our new and innovative ways to give you more time to yourselves or with those kids of yours, rather than having you chained to the stove making dinner. stay tuned. you won't want to miss what we have in store for you. 
 

my head is about to implode people and it's only DECEMBER 18th....

omg. my brain doesn't work anymore.

it's like this every year. december 18th rolls around, and i literally can't string together a coherent sentence. too. much. tooooo much. 

i'm not sure how veteran caterers do this. i mean like, this is only year two of catchy. on the holiday scene. we've only been up and rockin' this catering/cafe gig for thirteen months and i already see myself in a forced retirement on a beach in jamaica in a few years by orders of the manor over here or collecting dust in a corner somewhere at a looney bin up in braindead, new york because i just couldn't handle the details. my head is about to implode people and it's only DECEMBER 18th....

i think it was the sickness that got me. i had it alllll covered. thought i had all the answers. four major party weekends, 78 events. presents for my kids on a spreadsheet (created by my first born, like it, like it. self-starter) and hosting christmas day (jackpot - so much easier than christmas eve). until BOOM. out went the legs, flat on my back. DOWN GOES FRAZER. ouch. 

i figured nothing could do a soul better than a pomegranate margarita with my girlfriend on monday night to get me through the holidays doldrums. i needed a night off from life to bitch, laugh and fill up my dangerously empty bucket. what i got was a hot seat right into a respiratory infection. ugh. and straight out the window went my perfectly crafted plan to pick off every single one of my kids christmas lists while simultaneously feeding the greater bergen county area. suck it. 

well, welcome to humilityland sister. where who i think i am and who i wish i could be collided like a newly licensed teenager on her maiden voyage. bottomline line? can't do it all. not even close. and trying to has just made me sick, cranky and seriously not a lot of fun to be within fifty yards of if you have the last name cacciabaudo. so here's to being a slow learner, owning my part and trying to make a little change . 

i got six more days until christmas and i plan to make the best of it. can't undo the 29 parties we have coming down the shoot before next sunday but i can try and pencil in a little F-U-N in the form of laugher, relaxation and lightness. i  just started by putting my computer on sleep mode and tucking in my 12-year who asked me to (to which i replied: "you're 12." and then felt like a *sshole. because that's exactly what i am). after all, it's christmas for pete's sake, what is the point of all of this if i'm gonna at like a miserable human being?? #startingnow #ownitchangeit #lightenuplucy #hitoverthehead

take a look at what's special this week...and call for the food that is going to save your life this week. we deliver. 201.445.6400.
 

wow. we're killing it.

wow. we're killing it. 

i'm sorry. that was cocky and obnoxious. i apologize for that. i don't mean to come off like i have a giant ego because for those of you who know me, that is so not how i like to roll. but i'm watchin' OBJ (odell beckham jr. for those of you non-giant loving football fans) just walk right-the-hell across the field into the end zone like he was playin' with toddlers and not the division leader-dallas-cowboys and it's just hard not to channel his mojo. especially after a week that included no less than 11 events this week followed up by another 18 by this saturday. yup. that's OBJLand sisters, and i'm just gonna waggle my finger in the air for a minute to enjoy it. 

i shout it out because life is short and we need to savor the triumphs & successes because they can be ripped away at a moment's notice. this time last week our little family at catchy. was about as low as we could be. one of our very own family members at catchy. who we work closely with every week suffered a terrible accident and we were struggling with the reality that nothing in life is guaranteed. it's been scary and terrible and the entire town of hohokus has been rallying around her since it happened. we are grateful she has an incredible support system and a team of doctors and are praying for her recovery. to be with someone one day and hear her life change so completely in a freak accident makes me want to grab hold of whatever moments of joy i find. 

so i am posting a few little pictures of myhappy thoughts (who are basically the loves of my life) and hope you take this moment right now to remember yours. focus on the good. find your gratitude. and cherish it. because we all know today how quickly it can be ripped away in aninstant. 

oh, and if you still have catering needs for the holidays what the f*$% are you waiting for? kidding. what i meant to say was: we are closing it out soon. like now. we still have a few staff members available to assist you with your parties and my chefs haven't officially killed me for adding last minute orders. but if you come by the shop and don't see me, they may have had me disappeared...so get on the stick folks. we are t-minus two weeks and counting til fat old saint nick shoves his ass down your chimney and you will be hosting your in-laws: ugh. make something easy that day.

call us now for your order 917.721.9217
 

holy CHRIST my youngest has a pair of pipes on her, god bless the man she marries

wow, what a special week that was. 

three half days of school for the kids. add six conferences to those delightfully free afternoons. throw in an election that has caused upheaval and disturbance across well, the ENTIRE world. and then cap the week with another two whole days off. oh, and while you're at it, toss in nine parties to that balance and i'm starting to see why i may have just lost my potatoes on everyone that stepped into my path. why i'm currently upstairs in my room typing this, not speaking with my husband, after yanking the kids out of the tub after they decided to see who could scream louder (a contest I can tell you, wholeheartedly, I never want to bear witness to. holy CHRIST my youngest has a pair of pipes on her, god bless the man she marries). 

i am still looking for that month when there is none of this sh*t. the days off. the holidays. the cans of sauce, boxes of pasta & jars of peanut butter for the food drive. the get the kids a hair cut, buy billy boots for his three day ecological trip to Stokes on wednesday, a dress for cece's confirmation next month and while you're at it, volunteer to coach the goalies on your daughter's travel lacrosse team because c'mon, you played lacrosse goalie and no one else knows what to tell her...um, tell her to find a goalie coach that's paid. i'm feeling like if i throw one more thing on this pile someone may be playing the role of randle mcmurphy in the next adult theatre performance of one flew over th cuckoo's nest. losing. my. mimdddddd.

so i'm gonna dial it back. like wayyyyy the hell back. throw a little self-care in there. just put a little lunch date in my schedule. added a hair appointment to the schedule so i can manage this tiger stripe sh*t i got going on upstairs (dark brown is definitely NOT the new blond). and as of last friday, i now have my kitchen whipping up my ENTIRE thanksgiving meal for me at this point. why not, right? i mean, if i have to host it, set the table, stock the bar, bake my grandmother's pie, buy the kids thanksgiving outfits, the LEAST i can do is have someone whip up my stuffing, bake off my chocolate babka & rolls those little piggies into their blanket before they brine my turkey within an inch of his 22 pound life. DO YOU KNOW HOW EXCITED THIS MAKES ME!?!?

so if any of you out there are feeling the same, needing some modicum of relief for the impending holiday meals that are coming in the next eleven days (and then thirty one days after that), catchy. has got you covered. we just hired two new chefs, one with an extensive and varied background in southern cooking and the other who worked at savini's of allendale as well as local of ramsey before it closed and grew up making fresh pasta in sicily at his grandmother's knee. we are going to crush it this holiday season for you!! 

call us NOW for your catering. time is running out and we are here to help (well, they are. i'm not. i just scratch my ass and type up the orders). call 917.721.9217 now if you need appetizers, sides like mashed potatoes, sausage stuffing, roasted brussels sprouts with bacon or our legendary chewy, delicious  loaves of pumpkin bread (i'm on my 26 loaf of bread in the oven as we speak). don't get left causing yourself a nervous break own like i almost did.
 

I have never seem more baked hame and asparagus in my entire life

what an easter. man oh man, you guys do not disappoint. 
i didn't think we could top the number of holiday parties we catered for christmas in december...until easter got here in march. we had 17 easter parties come in the last five days alone. hello easter bunny, who loves you?? 

i don't think i have ever seen more baked ham and asparagus in my entire life. i was so sick of hearing about it i decided i would make my family eat italian today (holy crap rigatoni bolognese NEVER disappoints).

but back to easter and our kick *ss customers (YOU). catchy. can't thank you enough. day in and day out, you manage to not just drive our business through the roof top, but you also have us smiling each day while we do it. you are so appreciative, so complimentary, so happy to be enjoying a break from your daily grind with a night off in the form of drunken marinated flank steak or a container of chicken fingers - that it just makes all the other crap in my day fall away. seriously, if it were this simple to end all the hostility around the world with good food and smiling service, we would happily deep fry up some chicken fingers & dredge them in our spicy sweet buffalo sauce for anyone we could. 

so thank you. for enjoying our food as much as we enjoy making it. when i came into my shop the other day in a particularly pissy mood there was a little cutie pie at my takeaway case with her nose up against it pointing to the fruit salad. she gave me a little fist bump when i crouched down next to her to say hi. its moments like those that make me grateful i took this shop on. all i need in my day is a little smile and a fist bump from a fruit loving little bunny. 

here's to many more successful days at catchy. check out what we can deliver to your doorstep tomorrow in the rain so you don't have to worry about dinner...
 

what a weekend. a girl could get used to this kind of weather.

what a weekend, a girl could get used to this kind of weather. 
there is just something about sunshine and warm weather that just makes a girl's heart sing. short sleeve shirts, no jackets. riding with the top down in my bug. playing lacrosse outside with my two littlest ones on the hay in my backyard...ahh, life is good. 

add to that sunshine, i am so freakin happy in my new house i am walking around with a perpetual sh*t eating grin. literally all day. smiling. i close the door and think, this could be the smoothest door knob i have ever turned. i lie in my bed and ponder whether i could have picked a better color for my bedroom (i couldn't. it's perfect). and when i brought home a gajillion groceries and proceeded to fill my new pantry, fridge and cupboards with every single staple i have ever wanted to cook with and then take them out 5 minutes later and actually cook with them it was all i could do not to cry. this house is like living in freakin' la-la-land. i may never leave it again. 

but if there is anything that can get me out of it, it's catchy. oh how i love that little shop. i love whipping up tasty new specials (um, can you imagine what a crispy, crunchy, filet of beef & fontina panini with caramelized onions will taste like tomorrow when you order it for lunch? i can. i will be eating it.). oh how i love filling my mini-shot glasses for you with our hot soups: 19 bean & chicken and rice, my chef is seriously gifted in the soup-making department. don't believe me? come in for a quart of apple rutabaga in the case tomorrow. it will change your life. 
so order up some delectable little goodies. let us deliver them STRAIGHT to your doorstep. at your home or office. let us cater your corporate lunch, your Easter dinner, your kids First Communion or Bat Mitzvah. there is literally nothing we can't make better with our tasty food, our outstanding servers & our customer service - it's our pride and joy.
so give us a buzz tomorrow at the shop (201.445.6400) and tell us what will make your day feel like mine did. sometimes you are just a down-home bbq salad away from feeling like you won the lottery.

black board special:
filet of beef tenderloin & fontina panini smothered in
caramelized onions & roasted garlic aioli

in the case: 
** "super" salad: quinoa, avocado, chickpeas, crumbled feta, baby spinach & citrus lime vinaigrette
** wheatberry cape cod: wheatberries, fuji apples, dried cranberries, toasted pecans, gorgonzola & maple
orange vinaigrette
** paleo apple chicken spinach salad: grilled chicken over baby spinach & romaine, fuji apples, walnuts & avocado in a herby lemon vinaigrette
** baja chicken salad: grilled chicken, roasted corn, queso fresca, cherry tomatoes, crispy tortillas & creamy guacamole in a citrus lime vinaigrette
HOT soups
** 19 bean soup (are there seriously 19 beans in there? yes, yes there are) 
** chicken & rice
other soups in the case:
** apple rutabaga
** momma's chicken noodle soup
** chicken & rice
** italian wedding soup with mini chicken meatballs  
    ** 19 bean
sides in the case:
** wild rice pilaf with dried cranberries
** rice noodles with edamame & veggies
** roasted brussels sprouts
** mashed potatoes
dinners: 
** balsamic chicken over grilled vegetables
** (we can't not...it sells out too fast!!)
chicken parm lasagna for two
** shepard's pie made with lamb
** blackened salmon over thai chili rice noodles
& edamame
** drunken marinated flank steak with
mashed potatoes
** pork tenderloin over rice pilaf with
dried cranberries

miscellaneous kick *ss kids & grown up food:
** veal & ricotta meatballs
** sunday sauce
** panko crusted chicken fingers with honey mustard
** buffalo chicken fingers with bleu cheese dip
desserts:
** catchy. crumb cake
** dark chocolate pudding cake
** crunchified chocolate chip heath bar potato chip & pretzel cookies
** chocolate babka
** "crack" bark: white chocolate pretzel bark
** vanilla amaretto pudding cake
text your order to 917.721.9217 or call 201.445.6400 tomorrow between 11am-7pm and order up your lunch or dinner! 
 

a little story about catchy....

so it's early morning and i can't sleep. i figure i may as well be productive so i'm up working out & watching one of my all time favorite movies, CHEF with jon faveau (the man's a genius, he wrote, produced and starred in it. ahh, to be so talented). for those of you who haven't seen it, watch it IMMEDIATELY on netflix. 
it dawned on me, while watching it for the 38th time, why i love it so much. here's a guy  who has had an epic fail. i mean EPIC. in public. and it's videoed and tweeted and retweeted everywhere documenting his disaster for the world to see. but he doesn't give up. he doesn't roll over and die. he certainly doesn't play the victim and whine about it. he regroups and with some serious humility and his hat in his hand, he finds a way to get back on the horse and continue doing what he is most passionate about. and fall in love all over again with is ex-wife sofia vergara (my favorite part of course). best part.
while watching him pump out dozens and dozens of cuban sandwiches from his food truck with his son & best friend, i realized why i am so in love with the movie. i have been where the main character has been. we probably all have in some way, shape or form, and rather than roll over and die (which is what most of us want to do at the time), we come up for kicking. we refocus, we take a deep breath, and then we get back in the game. 
catchy. is everything i have ever wanted. it's a bright, happy, energetic little place where people can come to get a break from the stress of their day, get a smile from the girl behind the counter and hear my peppy chef matt in the back yelling "order up!" once he has completed his task and made you a salad or sandwich that is gonna take you to nirvana for at least 8-10 minutes while you scarf it down. 
for me it's the place where, like in the movie CHEF, a smile comes to my face the instant i walk through the door. the colors, the smells, the people pulling lunch and dinner from the takeout case with their little ones twirled through their legs, the phone ringing off the hook: the chaos. i love it all. even when there is a problem i love it. it is what i have always, ALWAYS wanted to do and there is something that makes me feel so lucky that i had the faith to jump off the bridge and know that my parachute would open. that all you people, my closest friends and you total strangers who have now become friends, that come through those doors every day would keep the lights on and the heat on (well, sort of, this freakin heating system needs some serious help). 
so thank you for that. thank you for helping make catchy. a success in the first three months we have been open. i love it here and i hope you do to. keep coming. keep telling your friends and neighbors and anyone else you think could use a break from their life, a smile and a great meal. see you soon.
- erin