John Chapman was born in 1774 in Leominster, Massachusetts and died nearly 94 years later in Fort Wayne, Indiana where he was more commonly known as Johnny Appleseed. He was a true eccentric who often traveled barefoot dressed in rags and often wore a cooking pot for a hat. Chapman gathered apple seeds from cider mills and planted orchards throughout the Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Illinois  Many of the orchards that he planted were negligible since apple trees grown directly from seeds produce very poor fruit. However, when he revisited some of the orchards that he originally planted, he taught the nearby settlers the art of grafting which did allow the trees to produce quality fruit. 

However, it was his proselytizing of the Church of the New Jerusalem, a  religion based on the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg, a Swedish mystic The Swedenborgians emphasize one God, the Trinity, and that the new Jerusalem is symbolic of Plato's ideal society. One of John Chapman' s most endearing qualities was his wit. He once compared Swedenborg's idea of hell to the city of Newark, a comparison that has not out­lived its usefulness.

His generosity, wit, religious fervor, bizarre dress, and spiritual reverence for animals contributed to the legend of Johnny Appleseed which produced countless stories, plays, poems, songs, and several annual Johnny Appleseed festivals in the  US including on in Sheffield, Pennsylvania that features a lumberjack competition and an apple pie contest. There is also the fantasy video game Wild Arms 5,  the musical, Johnny Appleseed by Nashville composer Billy Edd Wheeler, and a Disney film. In the 1948 Walt Disney feature-length cartoon, Melody Time, an angel appears to Johnny Appleseed, singing an apple song, setting Johnny on a Johnny at the moment of his death, followed by his resurrection in heaven and the commitment to 'sow the clouds' with apple trees.

Michael Turay in the title role of the musical
Johnny Appleseed

Sour Apple Martini
 

1. Assemble all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and shake well with ice
2. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass, garnish with a slice of apple, and serve.

Makes one martini

1. Melt 1 TB butter in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté until soft but not brown
2. Stir in stock, apples, curry powder and lemon juice and bring to boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for about 10 minutes.
3. Melt remaining butter in another large saucepan over medium heat until foam subsides. Blend in flour and cook 1 to 2 minutes stirring constantly. Gradually stir in soup until well blended. When mixture reaches boiling point, remove from heat.
4. Strain into first saucepan, pressing apple and onion with back of spoon. Stir in cream  Cook just until heated through. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Serves four
 

Waldorf Salad
The song "You're the Top" from the Cole Porter musical Anything Goes
 contains the line: "You're the top, you're a Waldorf salad".
 

1. Chop the apples into medium bite-sized pieces. In a large mixing bowl, toss them with the cider vinegar.
2. Fold in the mayonnaise
3. Add the celery and walnuts. Season with salt and white pepper to taste and toss.
4. To serve, place a lettuce leaf on each plate and spoon the salad on the top.

Serves 2
 

Roast Pheasant with Apples
 

1. Preheat oven to 350º F.
2. Brown pheasant on both sides in 4 TB butter in a large casserole pan over medium heat.
   Remove pheasant and add remaining butter. Cover bottom of casserole with apple slices and place pheasant on top, breast down. Place remaining apple slices around pheasant. .Add Calvados, cover and bake for 1 hour.
3. Turn bird breast side up. season with salt & pepper. Cover and bake for 30 minutes.
4. Remove pheasant am apples from casserole. .Add cream to juices. .Add salt & pepper to taste.

Apple and Pecan Cheesecake