My dinnertime experiment, to which Rohini was a telephone witness, was not a complete success. The items involved were my sandwich maker, some readymade pie crusts, a can of hormel chili, and some cheddar cheese. I combined these things in the expected way. Early in the cooking process, some melted cheese leaked out one of the seams, and began to do the thing cheese does when exposed to a hot surface. It wasn't a big deal, so I allowed the expiriment to continue. However, when the chili began to bubble out of the sides of the machine a little while later, I had to put a stop to it. Removing the pockets from the machine was a challenge, as the edges were not crimped together as well as they should have been. Upon eating the resulting two pockets, one was insufficiently cooked, so that the crusts were still rather soft. The other side, however, was cooked to crispy and, aside from the fact that I had to eat it with a fork because of the weak seams, it was very much like what I was hoping to achieve.
Thoughts for improvements for further experiments: Dampen the edges of the crusts with water before placing them together. Also, close the machine more tightly. This may increase the integrity of the seams. Perhaps use bread instead of crusts (not ideal). Use slightly less chili in order to delay the explosion. Onions?
