Here's a different slant, Andy. Forget about recipes! What you should be doing is concentrating on techniques.
Keep in mind, however, that you cannot start something today and have 20 years experience by tomorow. I am not being facitious. Good cooking consists of manipulating good ingredients with good techniques. And good technique is based on repetition. You can learn the basics of sauteeing, for instance, by watching someone else do it. But until you've actually sauteed something, time after time, you really don't know what it's all about.
In short, a good part of learning is to recognize that some things only come through time in grade.
The other part of good cooking is learning how flavors and ingredients work with each other. A good exercize for that is to pick one technique and one main ingredient and run the changes on it.
For instance, start with a chicken breast. Pound it so it's even. Then saute it with just salt and pepper. Next time, try salt, pepper, and other herbs and spices. Then try it by dusting with flour. Finally, use a three-bowl set up of flour, beaten eggs, and breadcrumbs. Dip in the flour, shake off the excess, then dip in the egg, then the breadcrumbs. How is that different from a plain breast? What happens if you use seasoned flour? Of mix some hot sauce into the eggs? Or add spices and herbs to the breadcrumbs? What happens to the flavor and/or texture if instead of breadcrumbs you use ground nuts? Or crushed corn flakes? Or any of a dozen possible breadings? Does the addition of, say, Parmesan to the breading make any difference?
By the time you're done, you'll #1 likely never want to see another chicken breast. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/lol.gif But, #2, and more important, you'll truly understand sauteeing/pan frying, and what you can or cannot do with it as a technique.
What I'm saying is that there's nothing wrong with taking classes. But when you're done, you'll still have to repeat what you've learned, over and over again, until you're fully confident with it.