I absolutely love the smooth chicness of anything matte black, particularly in the kitchen. With so much that's already bright and shiny in that room — stainless steel appliances! Shimmering tile! Glossy ceramic plates! — I find matte textures a welcome diversion. They're understated yet still glamorous. Here are a few matte black kitchen and dining things I've had my eye on lately, from a simple faceted vase to a mind-blowing Bertazzoni range. (Guess which one I will not be purchasing anytime soon.)

As if you need another reason to use a muffin pan besides, well, just making muffins! That should be good enough, we know. But we like it when our kitchen tools do double duty, and it turns out, the ol' muffin pan is quite versatile! Here are 10 other ways you can put it to good use in your kitchen:

Q: I baked a sweet potato on a cookie sheet and some of the sugar leached out and burned leaving me with a few black spots that are not coming off. I've tried Bar Keeper's Friend and soap/water, the black spots are still there. Any tips on getting the cookie sheet clean?

Sent by Amy

Nothing says "Valentine's Day" like those little conversation hearts that say cute things like "Love You" or "Be Mine." They're adorable and colorful and sweet. The only problem is that they're chalky and powdery and taste kind of awful, don't they? I don't know about you, but I'd much rather give my love a cookie. 

Recently on the Ancient Industries blog I recently spotted and lusted over the pancheon, a rough but sturdy bowl made of red clay and glazed only on the inside. Once a common farmhouse tool used for bread making and to separate cream from milk, the pancheon has become somewhat rare in modern times. They seem to be making a small comeback, however, but so far only with a handful of potters in the UK. More

I am in the process of setting up a new kitchen, with all the decisions, indecisions, and rearrangements that settling into a new cooking space entails. Every time I start in a new space, there's fresh resolve to fix the things that drove me crazy in the last one. This time, for instance, I decided to create order out of the tangled mess of my measuring spoons. Here's how I organized them, and why. More

This old 8-inch round pan is the cake pan I reach for above all others for the simple reason that I know whatever cake I make in it will come out neatly and easily. Why? Because of the slider bar, which completely rotates around the pan, neatly separating the bottom and sides of the cake from the pan. Once a more common feature, it's rare (although not impossible) to find the slider bar feature these days. Have you ever used one? More

Packing up the holiday cookies cutters always makes me a little sad that the season— and its ever-present excuse for pulling out butter and sugar — is at an end. Not feeling quite ready to part with your Christmas stars and gingerbread men? Take some inspiration from The Food Network and put your cookie cutters to use in other clever ways around the kitchen. More

This past year we really took to heart the plight of the newbie cook: how do I set up my kitchen? What are the essential tools, appliances, and cookware to have at the ready? To help with this, we put together our own guides to cookware, bakeware, tools, and all the essential non-food products one needs to start off successfully in the kitchen, which we've included here. Rounding out this list is a post on great chef's knives, the best multi-tasking tool every kitchen should have (but especially small ones), and why it's worth it to splurge on one particular cooking thermometer. More

Q: My roommate recently used my aluminum baking sheet and instead of cleaning it with soap, he let oven cleaner sit on it for about an hour to break down the grease. Now the finish on my pan is dull and splotchy and I'm not sure if it's safe to use anymore. Did he ruin my baking sheet? More