Based on the first four reviews of Allrecipes, it sounds like it's not just you. Looks like Allrecipes changed their site to no longer allow sorting by ratings. That would frustrate me, too.

Yep, I agree about the wide variety of findings, but I grew weary of sites where no reviews were posted (mostly blogs) and others where I simply don't have/can't find/can't afford the ingredients. Suggestions on fun browsing sites? I consider myself an above average cook, but want real tried and true recipes...not something that just has a good looking picture.

I used to pop over to Epicurious when I felt like something new. I just checked, and while their website looks very different from the last time I was there, it looks like you can still sort by rating (four forks being the highest). What I also found interesting/helpful is the "% would make it again".

I prefer Epicurious.com to AllRecipes. AR seems more like an indiscriminate aggregator, w/ often multiples of an identical recipe under different titles (& lots of sketchy ones too), while Epicurious is definitely curated. I like reading Epicurious recipe reviews too, which can give you a better sense of the reason for ratings, like if there are only a few ratings & someone was subbing or omitting ingredients & wound up w/ a bad result. Other times it can be helpful to see thoughtful critiques from people who obviously know their way around a kitchen.

MarthaStewart.com also has a lot of very good recipes & basic tutorials.

I pretty well avoid at all costs recipes volunteered by readers, no matter how many stars....I am convinced many of them have never ever been tried at all. I prefer recipes from a known source, Julia, martha Stewart, Mario Batali or some of our good cooks here. anything from Ann T is sure to be good.
Point him to a few specific sites and tell him anything from there will be fine

Anything from LindaC is sure to be good, too!!

Bingo. I love the reviews that say "Great recipe! I didn't have " " or " " so I substituted " " and I don't eat nuts so I " " and I don't like " " so I used " " and we all thought it great but left off the topping because we didn't have time to make it...5 stars!!

Just as annoying: "I can't wait to try this -- it looks delicious. Four forks!!!!"

I rarely find good recipes on sites like Allrecipes or Epicurious. I might browse a bunch of them for a dish I've never tasted to get a sense of what it's supposed to be like, but most of the recipes I find, regardless of the ratings, really aren't very good. On FoodNetwork.com, I've learned to check the source. If it's from a contributing chef, even though not one of their stars, the recipe is often good, or at least informative. The ones from the general public are often awful, and the ones from the shows aren't always great. It's like they're written for TV rather than for cooks.

OTOH, I find lots of great recipes on personal blogs. If the bloggist is spending the time cooking for the blog, and taking pictures, and researching the background information, it usually means s/he has spent the time really perfecting the recipe. I'm wary of the ones that have a lot of recipes, because who has time to perfect that many? I also find the comments are more to the point, even the ones with substitutions, etc. Things like, "this was too salty", or "it baked too fast in my oven", are useful, or even, "I did a variation with sassafras that was wonderful" can be inspiring.

The reason I go to the 'net, rather than cookbooks, if I do, is because the recipes are tested. Some cookbooks aren't, or they have errata that make them difficult. Cookbooks are more likely to have good recipes, however, than the 'net in general. A friend just told me when she wants to make pizza, she goes looking for the kids' cookbook I gave her child because it has such a good recipe. :)

I've also seen where a recipe gets a 4 star rating and when you go in to look at it it's made with a cake mix or something. There's a couple of sites I've gotten good ones from but I prefer to look at the known chef's sites. I always search this site first after I've looked at a couple of my favorite cookbooks. Sometimes if it's something I've never made before I'll look at several sites to get a general idea like pillog does, check this site and then I'll tweak it and do my own thing. The only recipes that I don't try to improvise or tweak are baking recipes. Indgredients, techniques, measurements and baking times are too exacting.

I've also seen where a recipe gets a 4 star rating and when you go in to look at it it's made with a cake mix or something

Yeah, that's my main beef with allrecipes. If I go to the trouble to look for a recipe I want a recipe, not a formula for combining a box of this and a can of that. I have found one or two decent ideas there, though, often in the comments rather than the actual recipes, though.

I agree that blogs are more likely to yield something worthwhile, but I also find that there's a tendency for one blogger to dig up some really odd way to make a traditional dish and then that gets copied by dozens of others till it's hard to find a "real" recipe for whatever.

On the other hand, I have to admit that the box o' that, jar o' this is what most folks consider cooking from scratch to be these days. A friend just recently told me, very excitedly, that she'd made soup from scratch for the first time and it was sooo delicious. I was about to congratulate her when she gave me the recipe, which involved making ramen noodles (including the packet) and tossing in bought cooked chicken and a can of veggies.

...from scratch...recipe, which involved making ramen noodles (including the packet) and tossing in bought cooked chicken and a can of veggies

^^^ Baby steps. That was me many years ago -- guilty as charged! Gotta start somewhere. :)

Gotta start somewhere. :)

Yeah, but at 60 I don't think this is leading anywhere. :) She's always considered herself a scratch cook, using recipes that involve a box of hamburger helper and a jar of pasta sauce, combined with a box of instant rice mix, for instance.

Ordinarily I'd say that's just fine if that's what she wants to do, but her husband has heart trouble and is supposed to be on a low sodium diet, and nothing will make her believe there's more salt in that stuff than you're likely to add yourself when cooking.

Well, my SIL who does wellness counseling as part of her job also doesn't understand that--she's always telling folks to make the boxed stuff and just don't add more salt at the table, so I guess this is a prevalent belief.

I was going to ETA (but you beat me to it, writersblock): My biggest personal objection to boxed/packaged is the amount of salt and MSG they contain -- far beyond what my palate and body can tolerate.

One time I was heading up the funeral lunch crew and we were making a chicken casserole. I poached chicken breasts ( bone in skin on) de boned and put the bones and skin back in the pot with some onion and parsley and celery and cooked it some more....
I cooked fusilly, cut up and blanched broccoli and carrots and celery and added some frozen peas and chopped green onions. Made a cream sauce using the chicken stock as a base and added in some cream cheese and grated parm>
Well as we were assembling the casseroles, word came that there would be more people than expected! So I sent someone to the store for 2 big cans of cream of chicken soup and a bag of frozen mixed vegetables and a can of chicken. I boiled up some more pasta, plucked a few pieces of chicken from each already made casserole.....sprinkled everythign with crumbs and popped them into the ovens!....not sure anyone knew the difference....but I sure did!

I enjoy Serious Eats. They often give the principles behind recipes, so if one does have to substitute (availability, allergies), it's easier.

I also enjoy blogs, and the majority of the ones I've discovered aren't mixing box 1 with box 2 to "cook".

Epicurious and Allrecipes never impressed me.

I like this blog. They have started to add in a lot of other bloggers. I don't know how well I would like their recipes, but I like Elise Bauer's. She is the one that started the blog. I wish they would of let it alone.

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/

I also enjoy blogs, and the majority of the ones I've discovered aren't mixing box 1 with box 2 to "cook".

I didn't mean that any of them were. I'm sorry if I gave that impression. The people who cook that way mostly don't bother with reading/writing blogs, IME.

There are lots of blogs like that....believe me....people who cook by the package and box often need directions.
The other day while I was waiting at the meat counter, a woman next to me pointed to a "pork rollup" in the case which was a 1/4 inch pounded piece of pork loin, spread with a bread stuffing, rolled up sliced an inch thick,each strip wrapped with bacon and sold for $2.00 each. the woman next to me, older but not as old as I am! grin!...asked the butcher how long to cook one. He said at 375 for 45 minutes. I nudged her and told her it would be pretty dried up at that time....give it about 25 minutes at the most!
So even those who should know are giving bad advice to those who don't!