Dear Heloise: Recently, you printed two easy and delicious fudge recipes. Both had nuts in the ingredients. For those of us who don’t or can’t eat nuts, do the proportions of liquid ingredients in the recipes have to be adjusted so that the fudge won’t be too loose?

— Linda H., via email

Linda, nothing else in the recipe changes. The proportions of the liquid should stay the same.

— Heloise

CLEANING AN OIL PAINTING

Dear Heloise: My grandfather was a painter who was well-known for his western art paintings that showed what life was like when he was a boy. I want to hand off these beautiful works of art to my children, but they need to be cleaned first. My grandfather was a heavy smoker.

— Karen G., Santa Fe, New Mexico

Karen, you can find a product called a painting restorer for cleaning old paintings. Many art supply stores carry it. However, you’ll need to wear a mask and gloves when you use this product. Apply it with either a soft brush or very soft fabric, using gentle circular motions before wiping the product off. Follow all the directions on the back of the bottle.

Other than that, I’d recommend a professional cleaning, but this can get very expensive depending on the size of the painting.

— Heloise

THE GRINCH

Dear Heloise: I love to cook and bake, and last year, I decided to make some of my special salad oils to give out to friends as a gift at Christmas. First, let me say I’ve won awards for my salad dressings, and my recipes have been published in a couple of magazines. My kids always ask me to make of a batch of one or two of my salad dressings at Christmas.

Well, I made two different types of dressing last year and gave them out to various family and friends. My sister-in-law looked at both bottles, then handed them back to me and said they had a favorite dressing already.

This year, I am being a Grinch and won’t give them anything. My husband told me to let it go, but I think my sister-in-law was rude.

— Judy S., Sandy, Utah

Judy, yes, she was. A simple “thank you” would have been the classy, kind thing to say.

— Heloise

SOCIAL PROTOCOL

Dear Heloise: When one is invited to dinner at another’s house, one is expected to bring a favor or something. What latitude does the guest have in determining the favor? Can the host request an alcoholic beverage? Is the required favor kept by the host or shared with the dinner participants?

— R.M., via email

R.M., contact the host in advance and ask what they would like you to bring. They are then able to do whatever they wish with the favor. If it’s an item that you’d rather be shared during dinner, clarify this and bring a separate trinket to show appreciation for the host.

— Heloise

Send a great hint to Heloise@Heloise.com.