Fine restaurants know that exciting presentation of food is almost as important as the preparation of the dish. They don’t serve main courses with mounds of starch and vegetables circling the protein; they use potatoes, rice and veggies as the bed to hold the protein.

In its simplest form, Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak House in New York City shows how easy it is to put your protein atop a bed of grains. You can center the protein or place it off-center, as shown in the photo.

Whatever the bed comprises—see our list below—you can make it more visually arresting and flavorful with mix-ins. Here, Del Frisco adds diced vegetables to brown rice.

Use a spoon to drizzle the sauce; you can make an easy sauce by deglazing the pan.

Start with grilled, poached or sautéed meat, poultry or seafood (or tofu). For a bed, use:

 
*The asterisk indicates a whole grain.
 
MIX INS

A combination of ingredients is always more interesting than one alone. Would you rather have a bowl of lettuce, or a salad of lettuce plus three or four other vegetables?

Try to enhance any of your beds with at least one other ingredient; for example:

 
Happy bedding!