There's still enough time to make travel plans for the 4th annual California Artisan Cheese Festival in Petaluma, CA. I've never been myself, but it sounds like great fun. Not only will you have the opportunity to eat lots of cheese, you can also sit in on numerous cheese-related seminars, whoop it up at a barn dance and take creamery tours. The festival is March 26 - 29th and events are selling out fast.

Sunset Magazine is holding a recipe contest and the winner will receive a free ticket to the seminar day program at the festival.

Seminar topics range from guided tastings of cheese with wine, beer and spirits, to learning all about unpasteurized milk. I've always e enjoyed seminars at cheese festivals and have found them to be informative and fun for both beginners and professionals.

Ibores is a goats' milk cheese from Spain made with unpasteurized milk. The vibrant reddish-orange rind gets its color from rubdowns with paprika and olive oil.

Ibores is a rustic cheese, nothing super fancy, but plenty satisfying. The flavor is quite salty, but also a bit earthy and slightly sharp. Because of the saltiness, fruit is a nice contrast to the cheese. If you're like me, however, and salt is something you crave, then pair ibores with salami. The combo, with a little bread or crackers, makes a great snack.

It seems like every article I read these days is telling me how healthy kale is. It's super green loaded with nutrients and I've been trying to add it to my meals more regularly. Cabbage is another vegetable loaded with nutrients that I don't eat nearly enough. Now, some might argue that adding a little cheese and cream to kale and cabbage negates some of the health benefits, but I think it adds tons of flavor, a little calcium, and makes it irresistible to both kids and adults.

I used Parmigiano-Reggiano in this recipe for Creamy Kale and Cabbage, but Grano Padano, Cheddar, Pecorino Romano and others would taste great too.

Raclette is the perfect winter cheese because it's typically served melted. Ideally, of course, melted cheese that's eaten in a ski lodge in the Swiss Alps, but hey, you can eat it at home too.

Raclette is both a type of cheese and a reference to the process of melting the cheese. Raclette comes from the French word racler which means "to scrape." Raclette cheese is typically melted then scraped onto slices of bread or warm potatoes. If you're really serious about eating Raclette, you'll use a Raclette Quattro that can melt a quarter of a wheel at once. You can also use simple griddle to melt the cheese, or slice it into a cast iron pan and let the cheese get all bubbly and warm.

Raclette cheese is made in France and Switzerland. The French version is typically a little milder in flavor.