A breakfast-style pizza with a fried egg on top brings out the kid in us

I’m not of the pancakes-for-dinner set. There are advocates, of course (mostly among kids?), but my breakfast-for-dinner craving runs more toward huevos rancheros.

Whether leaning toward the sweet end of the spectrum or the savory, the idea of a breakfast item for dinner has a certain naughty appeal, like we’re getting away with something. It’s a topsy-turvy treat. Cookbook authors Lindsay Landis and Taylor Hackbarth play to that desire in the straightforwardly titled "Breakfast for Dinner" (Quirk, $19.95).

While some of the 70-plus recipes may stretch the theme (can bananas Foster crepe cake be considered breakfast?), many appeal to the kid in all of us. Indeed, a real kid, a colleague’s daughter, plastered the book with Post-its, declaring "Major happy!" (for doughnut fudge sundaes) or "Delish!" (goat cheese Monte Cristos).

She dubbed the recipe here, "Strange, but fantastic," so we had to try it. Verdict: Fantastic — and maybe Katie will be a food writer.

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PIZZA OVER EASY

Prep: 15 minutes

Cook: 8-12 minutes per pizza

Servings: 4-6, makes: Two 10-inch pizzas

Note: Recipe from "Breakfast for Dinner."

Ingredients:

4 ounces baby arugula, plus more for topping

2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

½ cup shelled pistachios

2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

¼ teaspoon salt

Freshly ground pepper

2 balls (9 to 10 ounces each) pizza dough, store-bought

Cornmeal or semolina flour

8 ounces mozzarella cheese, grated or thinly sliced, about 1 cup

½ cup freshly grated Parmesan

2 large eggs

1. Place a pizza stone (or baking sheet) on the middle rack in the oven. Heat oven to 500 degrees.

2. For the pesto, place arugula, oil, pistachios, garlic and red pepper flakes in a food processor. Pulse until smooth. Season with the salt and pepper to taste.

3. Roll or stretch dough into disks, about 10 inches in diameter, on a lightly floured work surface. Generously dust a pizza peel or the underside of a cookie sheet with cornmeal or semolina. Lay 1 dough disk on top. Spread half the pesto over the dough; sprinkle with half the cheeses. Crack 1 egg in the center.

4. Gently slide pizza onto pizza stone. Bake until cheese is melted and egg white is cooked through, 8-12 minutes; edges of crust should be golden brown. Remove from oven; cool slightly. Top with fresh arugula. Repeat for second pizza.

Nutrition information:

Per serving (for 6 servings): 630 calories, 43 g fat, 10 g saturated fat, 88 mg cholesterol, 42 g carbohydrates, 22 g protein, 768 mg sodium, 3 g fiber.