“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 (Artisan, 2009). 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.”

CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

For the chicken:

1 (3- to 4-pound) chicken

1 onion, peeled and halved but with the root end left intact

1 large carrot, peeled, trimmed and coarsely chopped

2 celery stalks, trimmed and coarsely chopped

4 sprigs fresh parsley

1 turnip, peeled, trimmed and chopped

2 parsnips, peeled, trimmed and coarsely chopped

8 to 10 cups water

1 tablespoon coarse salt

For the dumplings:

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

3/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill or parsley

Place the chicken in a large pot. Add the onion, carrot, celery, parsley, turnip and parsnips to the pot, and add just enough of the water to barely cover.

Cover the pot, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer, adjust the lid so that steam can escape, and simmer for 50 minutes. Lift the chicken and vegetables out of the pot. Discard the onion halves and parsley sprigs. Continue to simmer the broth for 15 to 20 minutes. Add the salt. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones and shred into large pieces. (Discard the skin and bones.) You’ll have about 4 cups of shredded chicken; use 2 to 4 cups as desired.

Make the dumplings: In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in the milk and dill or parsley, and stir just to combine.

Drop the dough, 1 tablespoon at time, into the simmering broth. Cover and cook until the dumplings have cooked through, three to four minutes. Carefully return the shredded chicken and vegetables to the pot and heat through. Serve in wide bowls with big spoons.

Yield: 6 servings

Recipe from “Mad Hungry: Feeding Men & Boys” by Lucinda Scala Quinn (Artisan, 2009)

PORK CHOPS WITH APPLES AND ONIONS

6 bone-in pork chops (loin or shoulder) cut 3/4-inch thick

coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil or vegetable oil

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 large white onion, peeled and sliced

2 to 3 apples cored and sliced

1 cup beer, white wine, cider or chicken broth

cooked rice or mashed potatoes, for serving

Trim the chops of excess fat. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat a 14-inch cast-iron skillet over high heat (if you have a smaller one, you may have to work in batches) and then swirl in the oil. Lay in the pork chops and don’t move them for a few minutes, to assure that a good golden sear forms. Turn and brown well on the second side for a total searing time of about 10 minutes. Remove the chops to a warm plate, and set aside.

Swirl the butter into the pan. Add the onion and apples. Saute until the onion slices are lightly caramelized and the apples have begun to soften, about eight minutes. Stir in the beer or other liquid. Return the chops to the pan.

Cook until the pork is tender, about 15 more minutes (depending on the size of the chops), turning halfway through and covering the chops with the apple mixture. If the apple mixture needs a little thickening, remove the chops to the warm plate again and simmer the mixture on high for a few minutes to reduce and thicken.

Serve the chops over rice or mashed potatoes with a large spoonful of the apple-onion mixture over the top.

Yield: 6 servings

Recipe from “Mad Hungry: Feeding Men & Boys” by Lucinda Scala Quinn (Artisan, 2009)

Marialisa Calta is the author of “Barbarians at the Plate: Taming and Feeding the American Family” (Perigee, 2005). For more information, go to www.marialisacalta.com.