adminhtml.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<config>

	<!--
		Backend menu configuration

		TODO: how to disable a menu item
		TODO: What other options are available?
	-->
	<menu>
		<catalog translate="title" module="catalog">
			<!--
				translate="title" refers to the title tag that contains
				module="catalog" points to the module that is used to load the data helper from for resolving translations
			-->
			<title>Catalog</title>
			<sort_order>30</sort_order>
			<!--action>adminhtml/catalog</action-->

			<depends>
				<module>Mage_Catalog</module>
			</depends>

			<children>
				<!-- place submenu items here recursivly -->
			</children>
		</catalog>
	</menu>

	<!--
		Define resource accessible in the acl backend

		The title of the resource should match the menu item
	-->
	<acl>
		<resources>
			<admin>
				<children>
					<catalog translate="title" module="catalog">
						<title>Catalog Section</title>
					</catalog>
				</children>
			</admin>
		</resources>
	</acl>
</config>