Sophisticated breakfast for dinner

There are those nights when breakfast is the only way dinner is going to get on the table.

But that doesn't doom you to a bowl of cold cereal in front of the television. There are plenty of easy ways to add a dinner-like sophistication -- or at least satisfaction -- to your breakfast staples. And that was the inspiration for this rich and cheesy take on eggs and toast.

This same dish could be recast as a finger food for holiday parties, too. For that, roll out a bag of pizza dough as thinly as possible, brush it with some olive oil or melted butter, then pop it in the oven. When it is nearly cooked, pull it out, top it with brie and crack a few eggs on it, then return it to the oven until the eggs are ready.

Toasty Brie and Egg

1 tablespoon butter

1 thick slice sourdough bread

1 egg

Salt and ground black pepper, to taste

1 thick slab brie (about 2 ounces)

1 sprig fresh thyme

In a large skillet over medium-high, melt the butter.

Place the bread in the skillet and toast until the bottom is crispy and just turning golden, about 3 to 4 minutes.

Flip the bread to toast the other side, pushing it to one side of the pan. Crack the egg into the other side of the pan. Season it with salt and pepper.

About 1 minute before the egg is cooked to desired doneness, place the brie on the bread.

Use a spatula to transfer the egg, sunny side up, onto the brie. Cover the skillet and cook for another minute.

Serve immediately.

Nutrition information per serving (values are rounded to the nearest whole number): 639 calories; 299 calories from fat (47 percent of total calories); 33 g fat (19 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 302 mg cholesterol; 55 g carbohydrate; 29 g protein; 2 g fiber; 1,287 mg sodium.

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EDITOR'S NOTE: Food Editor J.M. Hirsch is author of the new cookbook "High Flavor, Low Labor: Reinventing Weeknight Cooking." He can be e-mailed at jhirsch(at)ap.org.