Best of 1991

1 CAL-ASIAN CUISINE, a.k.a. PACIFIC RIM COOKERY.

It was the year's best new gourmet trend, and its most renowned pioneer was Los Angeles' superstar chef, Wolfgang Puck. Pacific Rim cuisine--more for dining out than cooking in -- features American, chiefly Californian, staples subtly accented by Oriental herbs and spices such as lemongrass or ginger. The result: dishes that have a Western look but an Eastern aura, like shrimp and papaya salad with Thai peanut dressing.

2. MCDONALD'S MCLEAN BURGER.

The best news for fast-food devotees was that, after years of helping clog the nation's arteries, McDonald's introduced its new McLean burger with 320 calories and only 9 g of fat, in contrast to 410 calories and 20.7 g for a Quarter Pounder. Burger King and Wendy's have yet to follow suit.

3. COOKING AT THE ACADEMY.

The hottest and most savory TV cooking show is produced by San Francisco's California Culinary Academy and KQED. The series, which has been shown on PBS channels, features no-name, no-frills chefs who skip yuks and patter in favor of precise instructions on how to concoct their light, low-fat, au courant recipes. In just four months, a cookbook featuring dishes from the series sold more than 90,000 copies.

4. CHENIN BLANC AND COLOMBARD WINES.

Some top California vintners have begun to make lively, fruity and moderately priced white wines from these two neglected varietals, which had long been thought suitable only for blending into generic jug wines. An end to the tyranny of overpriced Chardonnay.

5. FILET MIGNON STUFFED WITH ROQUEFORT CHEESE.

Yes, really. This was probably the only food gimmick to come out of the Persian Gulf war. One of Manhattan's top steakhouses, Gallagher's, reported a big increase in orders for this cholesterol-heavy dish after General Norman Schwarzkopf pronounced it a favorite.

6. VEGETABLES.

The best health news for foodies this year was fresh scientific evidence that what your mother said was true; veggies really are good for you. One study showed that eating garlic may help lower blood pressure. Other medical surveys suggested a relationship between specific foods and a reduced risk of certain diseases: broccoli and breast tumors, for example, or grapefruit and clogged arteries, soybeans and liver cancer.

7. EXOTIC FISH.

Sated with salmon and sole? Tired of tuna? Creative chefs have begun to challenge taste buds with such species as amberjack, cobia and pout. For good measure, some imaginative toques are cooking the sea creatures with ocean-born vegetables: alaria, arame, hiziki, kelp.

8. DESIGNER VINEGARS.

Vinegars -- herbed, balsamic, homemade, you name it -- took on added cachet as American chefs continued their ceaseless quest for less fattening flavor - agents. The shelves of specialty stores groaned with an ever increasing array of novelty mustards, oils and sauces, including a typically macho salsa concocted by that iron-mouthed amateur, actor Paul Newman.

9. THE NEWS FROM TOULOUSE.

Amazing but true: the region surrounding this city in southern France, whose robust cuisine embraces foie gras, fatty duck, preserved goose, chewy red wines and Armagnac brandy, has the lowest rate of heart disease in the entire country. And the French as a nation, despite their substantial lunches and dinners (wine included), are only one-third as likely to die of heart attacks as Americans are.

. . . AND THE WORST

Gourmet magazine's sugar-cookie recipe. In its July issue, the magazine mistakenly substituted oil of wintergreen, which in substantial doses can cause nausea and vomiting, for nontoxic wintergreen extract. Gourmet hastily mailed a warning notice and correction to subscribers; no casualties were reported.