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Monday is St. Patrick's Day and what better way to toast the Irish than with an all-beer menu. Beers used to be pretty much the same, with comparable strength, colour and flavour. Today, with all the imports and microbreweries around, choosing the right beer for the right recipe is a challenge, and beer and food matching can be an art.

Harmony is key: Dark beer is great with beef, while lighter lager is better with chicken. Beer in a marinade is also a good tenderizer and will break down the enzymes in tough cuts of meat. Serve the same beer with the meal as you use in the recipe.

SLOW-COOKED SALMON

This method of cooking salmon produces fish that is very evenly cooked yet still moist throughout. The rich sauce with its hint of tarragon, lemon and beer adds to the flavour. Serve with braised Belgian endive.

What you need

4 175-gram (6-ounce) salmon fillets

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 cup Pilsner beer or lager

1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 cup sliced onion

1/2 teaspoon cracked peppercorns

1 teaspoon honey

2 tablespoons olive oil

Sauce:

1/4 cup whipping cream

2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

What you do

Preheat oven to 225 F. Season salmon with salt and pepper and place in an ovenproof baking dish.

Combine beer, tarragon, lemon juice, onion, peppercorns, honey and olive oil in a pot. Bring to boil and reduce by half. Pour the hot liquid over the salmon.

Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, basting once, until salmon is still slightly pink in centre. Place salmon on a serving plate. The salmon may still look a little red but it will be cooked.

Pour basting liquid into a pot over high heat. Reduce until about ¼ cup remains. Pour in cream, bring to boil and boil until thickened, about 2 minutes. Drizzle sauce over salmon before serving. Garnish with parsley. Serves 4.

BEER BREAD

An easy-to-make rustic bread with a slightly moist texture and excellent flavour. It is great toasted or used for cheese sandwiches. It's also terrific with soups and stews. Using a dark beer gives it too much of beery taste, but wheat beer or lager are excellent. Because there is yeast in beer, it helps to make a structured loaf that you can use for sandwiches although it is really a quick bread.

What you need

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup whole-wheat flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 cup chopped dill

1 cup grated old Cheddar cheese

341 millilitres (12 ounces) wheat beer or lager.

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

what you do

Preheat oven to 350 F. Generously butter a loaf pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.

Combine all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Add the dill and cheese and stir to coat with flour. Stir in beer and mustard until mixture forms a dough. You may need to knead dough with your hands to bring it together.

Turn the dough into a buttered loaf pan and use a damp hand to smooth the top. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until light golden and firm to touch. Makes 1 loaf.

GUINNESS CAKE

This cake is a favourite of teen baker Elizabeth Fryer. It is very easy to make and always tastes terrific. I have adapted the recipe from Nigella Lawson's cookbook Feast.

What you need

1 cup Guinness beer

1 cup unsalted butter

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 cups sugar

2/3 cups sour cream

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Garnish:

Icing sugar or whipped cream

What you do

Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter a 9-inch spring-form pan and line bottom with parchment paper.

Pour Guinness into a large saucepan over medium heat. Add butter and heat until melted. Remove from heat, whisk in cocoa powder and sugar and reserve.

Combine sour cream, eggs and vanilla in a separate bowl and beat until uniform. Add sour cream mixture to Guinness mixture and whisk to combine.

Whisk in flour and baking soda. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until a cake tester comes out with crumbs clinging to it.

Place tin on a rack and leave to cool completely. Before serving, dust with icing sugar or lightly sweetened whipped cream.

Serves 8 to 10.