The perfect dessert is Irish cream coffee and dark chocolate

Can't help that I have one love when it comes to dessert: Irish Cream Coffee and dark chocolate. For me, there's nothing better to end a dinner than with a steaming cup of Irish Coffee and that added bite of dark chocolate. Best of all, it's the perfect dessert for St. Patrick's Day. This dynamite combination was love at first taste. Check out the history, the makings, and the love below.

• Image By Louise Docker (Flickr) [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

I bet you think Irish coffee has a long history, at least 100 years. Well, you might be surprised to know it began in the 1940s. Back in those days traveling anywhere took quite a while. It wasn't like today when you can hop a plane and get to Ireland in mere hours. No, it was a complicated thing, this traveling, and could involve seaplanes and boat rides.

By the time someone would get to the fair land of Eire, they'd be parched, a wee bit damp, and ready for a hot cuppa but it wasn't tea. A bit of whiskey and a mug of coffee would warm the cockles of any traveler's heart. As the story goes, it was a chef named Sheriden who came upon the solution while waiting at the Shannon airport and Irish Coffee was born.

• Image Source: http://flic.kr/p/dhVCB

For the Irish Cream Coffee lover, the true flavor and taste comes when you sip the whiskey-laced coffee after it travels through the cream. The whole thing is a sensory experience. Now, before you begin you should already have brewed your coffee and warmed the glass.

You'll need a suitable warmed glass goblet, 3 cubes of sugar, whiskey, and a dab of lightly whipped cream.

1. Irish Coffee usually comes in a stemmed goblet that is heated. Imagine your cold palms grasping the glass and feeling the heat.
2. Now pour in a solid shot of stout Irish whiskey. Think of the liquid sliding down the warm glass.
3. Drop three sugar cubes into the glass so they melt into the whiskey.
4. Pour steaming hot black coffee into the glass and stop just shy of about an inch from the rim.
5. Take the cream and lovingly layer it on top of the coffee--don't stir. The pros use the back of a spoon and pour the lightly whipped cream over it into the glass.

Short movie made in 6 days at http://www.dvworkshops.com DV Journalist workshop.

Learn from the pros and be ready to wow your guests at your St. Patrick's Day party. How Irish Coffee is made at the Buena Vista in San Francisco, CA.

Terrific glassware to make the perfect Irish Coffee

For me, an Irish coffee coupled with dark chocolate is a wonderful thing. How about you?

Have you tried an Irish Cream Coffee? If not, will you?

Dark chocolate has good health benefits and it tastes delicious

Dark chocolate. So much has been written about it over the last few years it's hard to add any more. I much prefer dark chocolate over any other type and when it's paired with coffee it is delicious. Have you tried dipping a bit of dark chocolate into an Irish Coffee or a Cappuccino? That's my thing. Luv it!

KNOWN HEALTH BENEFITS OF DARK CHOCOLATE

Dark chocolate contains a ton of antioxidants, much more than you'll find in strawberries, and is good for your heart. Some have even suggested a small bar of dark chocolate a day is good for the overall health of your cardiovascular system. I'm all for that.

Studies have even shown that that same little bar of dark chocolate lowers the blood pressure in many of those who suffer from high blood pressure. There's another reason to keep dark chocolate on hand. And finally, dark chocolate lowers that nasty LOL, you know, the bad cholesterol. Dark chocolate is my friend.

And if you're still not convinced, that little piece of dark chocolate can actually help you feel good. Really. It contains seratonin, an anti-depressant and it stimulates the production of those wonderful things called endorphins. Same thing that happens when joggers hit their stride and have a runner's high but, hey, I'd just rather nibble on the dark chocolate, wouldn't you? So for the sake of your health, why not keep a little nearby? :)

Enjoy Lindt dark chocolate squares with coffee - packs of 12

Add a bit of mint to the dark chocolate - packs of 12

Add the tang of an orange to the dark chocolate - packs of 12