With Love, Meghan Episode Twelve: How 'Bout Them Apples

WITH LOVE, MEGHAN: HOW 'BOUT THEM APPLES

Original Airdate: August 26, 2025

Special Guest: Samin Nosrat

Mentions of "Joy": 0

Mentions of Edible Flower Sprinkles: 0

Passive-Aggressive Moments: 1

Gushing Praise for Markle:  "Also, your dress is so beautiful, and I love that you're not wearing shoes".

On a Golden Girls episode, Betty White's character of Rose has them sing a work song about stuffing a chicken. "Gonna stuff a chicken, like my mama taught, gonna take the chicken DOWN to Mississippi", she belts out. Her Royal Highness Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and her guest did not break out into song while preparing Mrs. Sussex's beloved roast chicken; they did do something that With Love, Meghan is not known for. They made a tolerable episode.  

Meghan Markle will be welcoming Samin Nosrat, a fellow Netflix star, to her rented Montecito home/studio for some joyful activities (even if "Joy" did not escape her lips). The Duchess Hostess with the Mostess first made some apple butter. Here, we learn that Meghan's unnamed husband does not like cinnamon. Once Nosrat arrives, this giant ball of Persian joy is astonished to receive lavashak, a traditional Persian treat that Meghan has so effortlessly prepared. Meghan showed us How to Make Lavashak, which thrilled Nosrat. 

As "chef and author" Nosrat is, in Mrs. Saxe-Coburg & Gotha's own words, "such an accomplished author", Meghan will have the Salt Fat Acid Heat writer do some bookbinding. After that, they will cook with presumably more joy. First, we go back to My Guide to Roast Chicken, where we learn why the chicken legs are tied up.

I am so tempted to say something, but I will restrain myself.

Our new gal pal duo now tiptoes through the garden to gather passion fruit and other fruits and vegetables. We conclude our day with them enjoying the fruits of their labor, with Nosrat giving Mrs. Sussex the option to come to one of Nosrat's traditional Monday dinners.

As with Two Kids from L.A., what made How 'Bout Them Apples tolerable was not the host but the guest. The word "irrepressible" seems tailor-made for Samin Nosrat. Cheerful, upbeat, and enthusiastic about everything, I can imagine that Nosrat can liven up any setting. Right from the start, Nosrat has a ready laugh and a boisterous personality that makes her fun to watch. If she rattled on about "joy", I could believe it. No matter what Meghan had Nosrat do, Nosrat seemed to be genuinely enjoying herself. It takes a lot to make me believe that anyone would find bookbinding a fun activity. 

In fact, How 'Bout Them Apples gives us a glimpse of what With Love, Meghan could have been had the Duchess opted to not be the star. She could have followed Nosrat's example of hosting people over to dinner where they could have a relaxed chat. Granted, I would not be interested in Meg's Gab Blast. However, I found Nosrat an interesting mix. 

Unlike Markle, Nosrat looked professional and genuinely joyful. She did not mind looking silly. She dove in with both hands quite literally. She laughed generously. Moreover, her manner of speaking to Markle felt as though she genuinely was interested. Markle struggles with creating that fun, breezy atmosphere that she does desperately wants to craft. Her manner comes across as lecturing, sometimes belittling. Nosrat, on the other hand, seems to enjoy things.

A good way to compare and contrast the Markle and Nosrat manner is in their separate cooking sections. When Markle goes through My Guide to Roast Chicken, it feels almost defensive and hostile towards the viewer. She waxes rhapsodic about how she prepared this for "my husband" and "my now-husband". At one point, she says, "If you have an aversion to touching raw meat, this is probably not the dish you should make. You should just... (in a stage whisper) I don't know, order takeout". 

I was genuinely taken aback at this statement. It is not as if there weren't already curious turns of phrases in this segment. "You always want the breast side up because white meat is going to cook a little bit faster", she intones. Granted, it is in reference to the bird. However, a little sliver of me wonders if this is what she tells "my now-husband" whenever they go to the beach. Yet, I digress.

How exactly does one encourage viewers to try My Guide to Roast Chicken when you are telling them to instead order takeout? I know that Mrs. Sussex was aiming for a joke. It is the stage whisper that gives it a touch of condescending. There is no lightness in Markle's delivery of her proclamation. Instead, there is a tone of hostility, almost anger, as if we the viewers are wasting her time by not following her instructions. 

Nosrat, on the other hand, seemed delighted to be in the kitchen. She laughs when things go slightly askew. She does not mind laughing, even at herself for being a bit messy. I cannot imagine her telling people to order takeout if they do not want to handle the meat. In fact, at a certain point in How 'Bout Them Apples, Nosrat says that there is nothing wrong or gross with handling food with your hands. She does add that she is a compulsive hand washer. Nosrat is welcoming. Markle is not.

It is curious during the bookbinding session in How 'Bout Them Apples, Markle says that she feels like she is going back to teaching. "Back to teaching?!" I exclaimed. "B****, that's ALL you ever do!". With Love, Meghan is built entirely around how you are being the teacher. Almost every With Love, Meghan episode is about you teaching your guests how to do XYZ and do it perfectly, or at least joyfully. There are few times when you step back and let others do it. I can think of maybe three times when you were not teaching: with Roy Choi, with Ramon Velasquez and with Samin Nosrat. With Velasquez, you came close to murdering him on camera when he gently told you to use two forks to tear the meat. 

The more I think on How 'Bout Them Apples, I find myself like Samin Nosrat more. Her giant mop top of hair and tall height seem to compliment her larger-than-life personality. It is curious that Nosrat is listed as 5'4" and Markle at 5'6". Watching How 'Bout Them Apples, Nosrat seems to tower over Markle to where I would have thought the former was close to six feet. 

How 'Bout Them Apples had them in the apple butter, the lavashak and I presume the salad. Based on the chalkboard writing shown in the episode, I think the original title was How Do You Like Them Apples. I do not know if this is the case, or why the title was tweaked. 

There was a lot to like in How 'Bout Them Apples. Samir Nosrat was fun and engaging. The episode flew by despite being 35 minutes long.  

Some things, however, do not change. I do not get why With Love, Meghan has so much packed into it. It seems a bit haphazard. Did they use the apple butter? I cannot recall. I take it on face value that Nosrat really wanted to take part in a bookbinding craft. Gushing over Markle's lavashak, Nosrat proclaims, "This is the perfect, where I'm like, I can't stop eating. Wow. Delicious. Thank you. I cannot wait. I love a craft". That section seemed a bit dull despite Markle's efforts to be chatty. The segue way to the roasted chicken seemed at times a bit odd to watch. Markle's aversion to use Prince Harry's name is now almost farcical. She uses the phrase "my husband" or "my now-husband" four times by my count. Is saying "Harry" some sort of Montecito curse?

How 'Bout Them Apples is actually not bad. I cannot call it good. I can say that it is the first episode of With Love, Meghan that has not made me want to tear my hair out. I put that on the authentically joyful personality of Samin Nosrat. She brought the salt, fat, acid and heat to With Love, Meghan. The Duchess of Sussex, to be fair, has the saltiness and acid already. They just do not blend well, not even with edible flower sprinkles. 

5/10

Next Episode: Spice Up Your Life