when life hands you lemons, it's best to find a good vodka and make an adult cocktail out of the situation...

when life hands you lemons, it's best to find a good vodka and make an adult cocktail out of the situation...

this thing is brutal. just when we think we are out of the woods and governor murphy calls for gatherings of up to 25 people as long as social distancing is adhered to (good luck with that phil), you tune into news with updates on the 100K+ deaths this pandemic has caused and it's hard to find any solace in the idea of celebrating anything. when is normalcy going to return??

it seems no time soon.

in need of an escape, i fled to florida for 48 hours to help pack up my mom. sometimes it's nice to pretend your life isn't happening and dive into someone else's chaos. the break from work stress, a manager leaving for her dream internship (yay Nat!!) and an impending move from our home in 36 days was just what the doctor ordered. 2020 has not been the year any of us dreamed of and every once in a while you have to pull the rip chord and get the hell out of dodge to refocus on the good in your life. i have so much to be grateful for. no, it's not been fun to break up my family, change homes or figure out how to keep the doors of our little business open for our employees, but we can do ANYTHING we believe we can and their is a light at the end of this tunnel, i just know it.

so in the meantime, we plan to keep serving up delicious food for y'all because food is what makes the world go 'round (or at least mine). catering is back - we just booked our first graduation party on thursday - so call with your socially responsible catering needs and we will be happy to provide anything you need.

check out this week's specials below...two delicious ones back by popular demand...order up for pick up or delivery tomorrow night!!

is it just me or are y'all hitting a massive brick wall too??

is it just me or are y'all hitting a massive brick wall too??how could we not? it's been, what, 8? 9 weeks of quarantining with our families or alone at this point, how long is this torture going to last?!? we are not a population that is meant for social isolation!

as such, i'm finding it nearly impossible to hold the thoughts that pop into my head from passing through my lips. it's like my filters have sprung a large hole and they are letting all that harmful sh*t flow right on through. my son's sudden desire to grow his hair long during this quarantine?? shut up erin, just SHUT. UP. he's not interested in what you - hey billy, do you know that your hair kind of looks like a lego piece that can be snapped on and off at that length? ughhhhh. door slam. my daughter's predilection for self-tanner - cec, do you know that stuff makes you look sort of like a teenage orange popsicle? middle finger extended. deserved.

i can't blame them, what is my problem? just close your damn mouth. but i can't. there is something about being cooped up with the same people for 62 straight days that urges my brain to overshare how they can live their best lives...not interested. *nodding heads* NOT. INTERESTED.

so in the meantime, i will send my focus back to food. i took my eye of the shop the last two weeks in an effort to begin the process of getting my house packed up for our move and i needed a little mental break from cooking up tasty timeout trays for you fine folks. but now we're back with a vengeance and (my kids are) praying that food will bring up my positivity the way it always manages to. add in the corporate catering that is back (thank you blinds to go for reopening just when we needed you!) and the hospital orders that keep flooding in and there is light at the end of the tunnel (right?).

check out this week's specials below...two delicious ones back by popular demand...order up for pick up or delivery tomorrow night!!

SPECIALS:

MONDAY/TUESDAY: Smoky Pulled Pork with Triple Cheese Macaroni & Cheese

THURSDAY/FRIDAY:

Crispy Fish Tacos with Avocado Smash, Cilantro Lime Slaw & Fresh Pico de Gallo on two Flour Tortillas

ALWAYS AVAILABLE

* Tuscan Lemon Chicken

* Beef & Broccoli

* Penne Vodka

* Parmesan Crusted Chicken

* Chicken Stir Fry

* Lemony Orzo with Baby Spinach & Feta

* Panko Crusted Chicken Fingers

* Double Vegetable Rice Pilaf

* Drunken Marinated Flank Steak Skewers with Chimichurri

*Lasagna Bolognese

* Rigatoni Bolognese

call or text ERIN at 917.721.9217 with any questions about any of the above.

yup. we did it.

yup. we did it.

this longer hours gig seems to be

taking off quite nicely.

three weeks into our new ten hour days (10am-8pm - WHAT?!?! yes. ten hours: truth.) and word on the street is: LONGER HOURS = HAPPIER MOMS & DADS (and kids enjoying their crispy panko crusted chicken fingers at 7:48pm). see that kid above?? she had them for dinner last night and look at that smile.

i can't lie to you (well, I could...), I love it too. like the rest of you fine peeps, I find myself wedged in my driver's seat for the better part of four hours after school bouncing around from CCD to cross country to dick's sporting goods for new shin guards for my cute little field hockey players and by 7pm, the idea of whipping into a supermarket for ingredients to throw together a healthy dinner is LAST. ON. MY. LIST. YO. so being able to dial up www.thecatchycaterer.com and click on the ONLINE ORDERING BUTTON (yes, it really is that easy, and you can save your info so you don't have to enter it 4,000 times over) brings a smile to my face. what super genius created this heavenly little situation of online ordering and do my children seriously not understand how lucky they are to have it??? we used to have ONE option for takeout in my day and we had to drive down to Poppa Tony's Pizza to pick it up. spoiled rotten i tell you.

with the first days of school behind us (look at that handsome devil on the left ready to take on freshman year) and sports in full swing (yes, those are SENIORS drawing all over their teammates and getting ready to shove off next fall for college - when did that happen?!?), it's getting crazy up in here. i can barely keep it together every september what with the schools jamming not one, but THREE back to school nights at us this month - always dumps me straight on my *ss. thankfully catchy. is open late and delivers TO. YOUR. DOORSTEP. you can order up food for your crew and a few extra salads for yourselves so you have something good to eat when you walk back in the door after that painfully long description of how your kid changes classrooms in seventh grade (we get it, we've been there).

so take advantage of our new longer hours and give yourself a little break. oh, and while I've got you here, don't forget to book your holiday party. with our fourth 100+ event locking up their staff for december, this year promises to be our busiest ever. don't want to be turned down? can't say I blame you. call us at the shop (201.445.6400) or on ur catering line (917.721.9217) and get on our calendar early. you don't need to commit to headcount or a menu but you can reserve your staff and save yourself a headache come a month from now when we are all booked up and you have to choose between your lazy nephew harry & the neighbors kid who can't put her phone down.

catchy. catering: we've got you covered.

ask and ye shall receive...

one of my dad's favorite lines was "ask and ye shall receive." growing up in a family of ten kids, special meals or time alone with his mom were not at a premium. but my grandma always told him, 'I can't know what you want unless you ask for it. I may not always be able to deliver it, but you have a far better chance of success if you open your mouth.' it's one of my kid's favorite stories. their requests for a special dinner or getting to run errands JUST with mom (and not a sister or brother tagging along) always remind me that everyone has something they really want and that I always need to be open to hearing it.

after too many requests to count from the orthodontics office who needs to get their lunch order in first thing in the morning before they get busy and forget, to the moms who pop in before OPEN FOR BUSINESS sign has been flipped on the door in hopes of grabbing their healthy salad after their barre class and getting home to make some headway on the laundry before that nursery school pick up is upon them, you have asked too many times to ignore that we need to OPEN EARLIER!! coupled with the millennial kids hard at work at the office looking for their dinners on seamless and finding us closed at 7pm just when they are starting to get hungry for our mexicali burger (and telling us about it in their reviews), we knew we had to figure out a way to make it happen.

so we hired a new chef for you all (thank you for your patience there - THAT is always a fun process of getting the new kid up to speed on 32 salads, sandwiches & appetizers), shifted around 16 people's schedules to fill in ALL the gaps and we are making it happen!! tomorrow marks the inaugural opening of catchy.'s ten hour days. TEN. HOUR. DAYS. PEOPLE. how exciting is that?!?

starting at 10AM tomorrow and we will have our to go case FILLED with our delicious salads, soups & tasty treats. and we will keep at it until 8PM so when you are bleary-eyed on that last carpool at 7:30 and can't figure out what the H*LL to make for dinner you can pop over to www.thecatchycaterer.com and order straight from your phone and it will be delivered HOT to your doorstep by the time your kid has gotten his smelly *SS into your car. WE HAVE YOU COVERED!!

REMINDER!! the fall is heating up with catered events. everything from weddings to bar mitzvahs to progressive dinners and corporate lunches have our heads spinning so call and book your ladies night or husband's 50th or daughter's baptism ASAP if you want to reserve our best staff! for those of you who know us, our service is as fabulous as our food but we can't promise our A Team to you if you don't call in advance and let us know what you need.

see you bright and early tomorrow folks - remember, 10am-8pm are our new hours, plan dinner accordingly now that our grill will be open1!

yeah, it's been a while.

i was out for a drink tonight with my friend when she leaned over and said, "hey, have I missed something? or did you unsubscribe me from you blog? i haven't read anything from you in a while." i laughed. "no, no," i told her. she was right. it's been over a month since i've blogged. i just can't seem to get myself to share.

i wouldn't consider myself a blogger but i guess with over 150-odd posts over the past years, that's what some would call it. i love to write. it's always been a passion of mine. this brain has way too much traffic in it to keep it all to myself. and lately, what with going through a divorce after 18 and a half years of marriage and watching my kids endure all that comes with it, there is even more commotion up there than ever. where my blog was once a place to shout out a weekly menu, or share milestones of my fledgling catering company, now it's a place where i sometimes go to process the ins and outs of my fear. which is probably pretty weird to be doing to a group of folks who signed on to hear about what food we are serving.

so i'd slowed up on the reality show of my life because i didn't want to turn people away. but it seems, i guess, people have noticed. my girlfriend today was the sixth person to mention my disappearance from her monday morning inbox flurry this week. grateful to know the people who check-in like to see a bit of both: delicious food, maybe some cute pics of my kids, and perhaps a little more intel on a family of six that has become five than i would have thought.

so i'm back. feels good to tickle the keys of my shiny new macbook (thank you very much catchy. for a strong spring that helped me afford it). parentals, we did it!! we've made it to the midway point of the summer. who's with me in feeling like it's been six months rather six weeks? anyone answering 'not I', we are no longer friends. summer vacation? MY *SS.

having kids home from school is exhausting. add in two teenagers who think they are too old for anything structured and i want to rip my eyelashes out. if it ain't camp, then it's a job big kids so feel free to go & get it (weird, they didn't). what camps to we put them in? are my friends in them with me? carpools: are you on drop off? or pick up? 9-12pm for $225/week? to say nothing of the constant banter of telling them to get off their g*d d*mn devices. what ever happened to: go outside and don't come back until the street lights go on and you hear you dad's whistle?? those were the days. not to sound like a complainer but IS IT ALMOST SEPTEMBER 1ST YET?!? I've literally run right the f*ck out of things to do.

in the meantime: we've been catering parties like it is our job. oh, that's right. IT IS. we've done baptisms and graduations. corporate luncheons and a 50th birthday parties with drag queens that, SERIOUSLY, do not GET more fabulous (look left & see). we are creating new ice cream flavors like we are ben & freakin' jerry and i'm telling you, you've never licked something so good off a spoon. hello cookie crumble. we are over here upping our game every damn day. we booked a bar mitzvah today and a corporate gig for a non-profit last week that made my heart sing that we finally found our way into their event-planning world. catchy. is getting it done and while it's hard to shout out about the good stuff while the rest of my world is feeling a little like an episode of gossip girl, i'm gonna try and do it anyway. HERE WE GO PEOPLE: this is the tea:

starting in september, catchy. is coming at you LONGER HOURS. that's right: you asked, we answered. no longer will we be opening our doors at 11am while you all stand outside waiting to grab your salads and chicken fingers after your morning barre class. doors will be swinging open at 10am. and just to keep things balance, we won't close them until 8pm. I mean, why have dinners if we aren't open to serve them?

10am to 8pm.

BOOM.

can't wait to see you then. meantime, one more week before we close for a little vacation: 7/26-8/4 we will be CLOSED! more from me then.

thanks for welcoming me back.

i'm calling my shot...

I'M CALLING MY SHOT.

i know, i know. it's something they tell you never to do. but i'm doing it anyway. i'm standing squarely in faith on this one and i'm calling on my peeps.

i need you guys,

I NEED ALL OF YOU GUYS.

it's time.

i need you to spread the word about catchy. and i need you to do it NOW. to those of you who read my blog, to those who pop into the cafe for lunch to you folks that order up our catering for your special events -

I. NEED. YOU.

how can you help? ahh, thank you so much for asking. okay, here we go:

1) let's start with this blog? i need you to email it - like, right now - send it off to your five closest friends who you think would love our food & service as much as you do and tell them to sign up for it on our website (www.thecatchycaterer.com).

2) our instagram posts (handle: @catchy.hhk), follow us, drool over our pics and then tag your friends so they can see our amazing images of catered events, our handmade ice cream, our new menu items. oh, and my cute kids;)

and 3) your town's Facebook Moms pages: yes!! TELL THEM WHAT YOU LOVE ABOUT US (btw, thank you everyone on FB this weekend shouting out about catchy., i saw it, i loved it, you made our day!). please, please - do it now!! catchy. has a goal and we are calling our shot!!

i've talked about my goal in 2019. on january 1st, i threw down the gauntlet and challenged myself to grow catchy. 10% in 2019. i figured we would take it slow and see what could be done. a little marketing, a little extra posting on the gram, maybe move a few percentage points each month. well, you guys MORE than delivered. by the 1st quarter we were up 7.8%. in only three months, we were 78% there. BAM. so what did this goal hungry, hard hitting entrepreneur think:

LET'S DO EVEN MORE.

and just like that, i raised the bar on myself. i told my kitchen, my the front of the house and everyone in between that starting in the second quarter, our new goal was to grow catchy. 20%. that meant more from everyone: more organization. more hustle. more pounding the pavement. and more long, hot sweaty hours. but first and foremost, it meant more out of their owner. i needed to step it up and figure out how to drive even more people through my doors and i was starting it in a month that we crushed in 2018. how the hell could i grow april 2019 higher than '18?? and then it hit me. something i have been working on for the last nine months and getting better at every day:

ASK FOR HELP.

i've found over the past (grueling) nine months that there are people in your corner and they want to be there for you. they want you to succeed. they want to help. they don't ask "what can i do?" unless they mean it and they legitimately hope you will take them up on it. it's been a long nine months. there have been crappy moments with lots of tears, slammed doors and frustration. but there have been even more great ones. more moments of laughter, pride and joy than i can count on one hand: opening night for my boy. my oldest's prom. a pedi with my third born in the middle of the school day. reuniting with my college lacrosse team, 25 years later, standing on a field together raising a national championship trophy. the moments that have stood out most were when the people who i've shown up for and who have shown up for me, stood beside me and said: I'M HERE. it's not easy to let them in and take their help, but i've been told if i'm smart, i will. turns out, i'm pretty smart.

so i am asking the same of you. if you love catchy., if you love what we do, if you love what we are about, help us drive our business and spread the word about what we do in this small little shop in ho-ho-kus.

SPREAD. THE. WORD.

corporate catering. your school's teacher appreciation lunches. weddings, football banquets, everything. one day we hope to expand this place beyond this town and folks, i am asking for you to help me do it.

nothing keeps a winner down...

easter '19 in the books. at some point (i've heard), it's going to get easier. that point is not yet.

it was my first easter flying solo & single and man, no amount of chocolate eggs was going to make that one palatable. i've heard, so often, that we can't hold two thoughts in our brain at once (thank g*d). so i've been working at cultivating a gratitude mindset to counterbalance my inclination to focus on the detritus floating around me lately. easter '19 was the perfect opportunity to put it to work and i thought what better place to share it than on my catchy. blog since you all are a huge reason i'm still managing to haul myself out of bed these days.

#1. these kids. sure they are feeling smacked around by this whole divorce process but they find a way to make me laugh, often, and they know how to live in the moment better than most of us.

#2. catchy. the customers. the creativity. the diversion. having something i am actually good at at a time when i feel like i am so very NOT good at so much. i woke to a text from a new customer thanking us for, and i quote: "preparing such fresh & delicious food with our family's needs in mind." check one for the good guys, i am doing something right.

#3. extended family (and friends). we can all relate to siblings and in laws sometimes getting under our skin over the years. happens with the best of relationships. but don't discount those people who know you so well, who will step up and step in with your kids when they are at their lowest points and take them to go buy sneakers, to a movie, for a sleepover to bring them some joy when being in their quiet, now-weird house feels like a torture. to my sisters & brothers - blood or not - saving me seats at church to make Easter mass easier, squeezing my hand & calling "just to hear my voice" when life gets tough, setting up egg hunts for my youngest when your kids have long trended out of them, you are seen. loved. and appreciated.

#4. gratitude. abundance. a message to us all. we have far more than we need. a snapshot of a little sisterly love is all it takes to refocus my mindset. sometimes it feels like life is whacking you down every time you pop your head up. it isn't. it's just your perspective. keep rising strong (#brenebrown). nothing can keep a winner down. NOTHING.

#5. lastly: attitude. have the right one and everything else falls into place. we got this people.

a raging success...

wow! what else can i say tonight except THANK YOU.

i am so incredibly grateful for your business.

once again, last wednesday, the first day we launched catchy.'s handmade ice cream at the cafe, my tribe, you all, showed up for me. all 1200 of you who follow my blog. the friends you pass it along to. all the wonderful the facebook mom's pages you post it on. you have taken us viral folks and made our ice cream, our newest venture over here at catchy., a RAGING SUCCESS.

every day last week we were up EIGHTY PERCENT over our typical sales. 80. %. seriously - i can hardly believe that!?! who would have thought some tasty ice cream and the mention of some new menu items would get you all so excited but it did. again and again you all show up at our doorstep, allowing us to feed you, introduce our brainstorms that become reality and you share with me just how exciting it is to have our little business in town. you can't know how much that fills me up.

as you know (from my mentioning it more times than i can count), catchy. has always been my Dream. it may not be big, it may not be fancy, it may not be saving lives or promoting world peace, but this little cafe has changed my life. a quick story: there is nothing brings me more pride than my kids. they fill me up, they make me laugh and they teach me when i'm willing to open myself up and hear it. it was my kids who led me to catchy. four years ago. i realized they needed to know that their mom's dream was important too. yes, dad had a job. he went to work. he brought home a paycheck, and yes, we were all so grateful for it. but mom had something to share with the world too. what started as a side hustle grew and grew, and then took a little turn, morphed and then grew some more. and now today, you don't just see me in my shop, but you see my kids learn right along beside me. that's what catchy. did for my family. not only did it help me prove to myself that anything is possible, but it also allows me to teach my kids that they can do anything too. aim for the sun kids. you are made for more. just like catchy.