Well, last month I blogged about creating a menu for a graduation celebration.  I asked the Answers community to post their suggested Pinoy appetizer, main course and dessert in questions in Answers and even in the comments of the post.  Based on your responses, here’s the result of our Answers-generated menu.  I can almost imagine this to be something I will present to the Chairman and the judges of Iron Chef America, hehehe.  Read and enjoy!

Starter: Radish Kilawin (from user “rough surface”)

The ingredients of this appetizer are thinly-sliced radish, green and yellow tomatoes sliced according to your preference, onions, green mango (the Indian or Carabao variety) also thinly sliced, and “sinamak” (this is Filipino vinegar that’s aged and mixed with chili, onions garlic and ginger).  Just mixed everything then it’s ready to eat.

Main Course: Adobo (chosen by user “Taiga Aisaka” and recipe from “Anne”)

Marinate for at least an hour 1 kilo pork liempo and/or chicken pieces.  The rest of the ingredients are: 1 head garlic, peeled and crushed; 1 tablespoon fresh crushed black peppercorns; 1-2 cups soy sauce (light or chinese soy sauce) and 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil.

In a wok or heavy-bottomed pot, sauté the marinated garlic and meat pieces until browned. Pour in marinade plus 1 bay leaf and let it simmer.  Pour in 1 cup of coconut vinegar (or sugarcane vinegar, if not available).  Do not stir.  Just let it boil for a few minutes to “cook” the vinegar.  Taste and adjust the seasoning and add some water if you want more sauce in the dish.  Simmer until meat is tender.  Remove bay leaf before serving.  You can also add a peeled hard-boiled eggs or raw potato cubes when adding more water.

Dessert: Banana Cue (from user “Alvin” based on eHow.com article)

To prepare banana cue, pour in a generous amount of oil in the pan, normally about 2 cups. As this is heating up, add 2 cups of brown sugar. You need to dip the banana into the oil or be able to roll it several times in the hot concoction.  Peel all saba bananas you are planning to cook and carefully run a skewer or stick into the middle of the banana.  Once the oil and brown sugar mixture is boiling, dip the banana into the liquid and roll several times.  After you pull the hot banana out, roll in brown sugar again and then re-dip in liquid.  Serve this caramelized delicacy hot or warm.  To add a twist to this, you can serve it with a scoop of ice cream.

There you have it, our Answers-generated menu!  This is perfect not only for celebrations but for any occasion you can think of.  Thank you again Answers community for your contributions, enjoy preparing and eating our user-generated menu.

(Flickr photo by isadora_photography)

Ok, you’re probably wondering what I mean by this.  Well, we all know that March is Graduation Month in our country and whenever a member of the family graduates, it always calls for a celebration.

As we spend time celebrating with the graduates of 2010, I would like to reach out to the food lovers here in Answers.  Let’s create a Filipino menu that’s fit for a graduation celebration!  This menu will include the best recipes for cooking a starter, a main course and dessert (imagine a 3-course meal).  I’ve seen some amazing questions and answers about Filipino food and cooking here in Answers so I know that we can come up with a great meal based on your answers.  In short, let’s come up with a user-generated menu for a graduation celebration!

There are two ways to suggest great recipes:

Either…

A) Send us a great open question about a recipe you’d like to know for a starter, a main course or a dessert by emailing me at y_answrs_jonas@yahoo.com.ph

Or…

B) You can either answer each one of the Team questions (here: starter, main course or dessert)

If you can help us with this project, you might find yourself published in the Best of Answers module on our frontpage for a week.  Even better, if your open question or answer is selected for Best of Answers or as a Best Answer, you’ll receive 50 bonus points!  Choose carefully a great best answer to one of your submitted food questions and at the end of the period and we’ll give you 20 extra points.

I definitely look forward to receiving your suggestions. Keep an eye on our blog where we’ll reveal more details about this initiative in the next few days. Many thanks!