New cookbook aimed at bringing back the family meal

"They eat standing in front of the fridge."

"They want dinner five minutes ago."

These phrases are promos for a recent cookbook, but they may in fact describe your own family. The book is "Mad Hungry: Feeding Men & Boys" by Lucinda Scala Quinn (2009 Artisan). If you have daughters, don't worry; they'll be "mad hungry" for the recipes here, too.

This book is really about bringing back the family meal, for all the right reasons: emotional, psychological, cultural, nutritional and economic. Quinn, executive food director for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and host of both a PBS cooking show ("Everyday Food") and a Sirius XM satellite radio show ("EatDrink"), is mad about her family, and about feeding them well - and together.

If you've been resolving to get back into the kitchen, this book offers encouragement and strategies. These are things you have heard before - tips about planning, sharing the work, and involving children in the cooking. It also has great recipes. You've read these before, too - recipes for lasagna, oven fries and breakfast burritos. But the combination of the author's enthusiasm, the luscious photos and the easy-to-follow recipes is a winner. Just looking at this book makes one "mad hungry."

• Marialisa Calta is the author of "Barbarians at the Plate: Taming and Feeding the American Family" (2005 Perigee). More at marialisacalta.com.