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I love greens, but I'm not a fan of the traditional greasy, meaty version. I cook this vegetarian version which both meat eaters as well as vegetarians love:
In a pan heat:
~2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp roasted sesame oil
1-2 tsp red chili flakes
black pepper
When the oil is hot, add:
1/2 a white onion - chopped
cook until onion is slightly carmelized
add washed greens and stir occasionally to keep the greens from sticking, but the greens will release lots of juice - so sticking isn't a major issue
when the greens are cooked down, add 2-3 tbsp (or more!) rice wine vinegar and salt to taste

I make these greens 2 times a week. They're delicious.

I like old-style (hammered, with or without pork involvement)
and new style like laila makes -- the thing to know is that you don't HAVE to cook them for hours, especially new fresh ones like you'd be getting in those CSA boxes.

I do something similar to laila. saute sliced onion in olive oil (several tablespoons) until about half cooked. Add collards, with some water still on them, cover and braise 'til done to your liking.

For a really nice presentation, stack the leaves and roll up tightly (from side to side). Slice and put in pan, keeping the "disks" intact. Looks really nice on the plate. And I don't remove the ribs unless they're especially tough. (but then I won't buy tough old collards)

Whoops, wish we could edit our comments.

Lots of freshly ground black pepper and a little salt.

Collards are my native food, but I've given up the ham bones and braise in a big pan with some water, olive oil, minced garlic and balsamic vinegar. Essential for New Years Day. With black-eyed peas baked with tomatoes and onion, rice and cornbread.

Laila - thanks! sounds delicious.

I like them with bacon, but Alton Brown's recipe makes a good one-pot meal to serve over rice or with cornbread. He uses a smoked turkey leg instead of bacon. Smoked turkey legs are dead cheap, very tasty, and yield a surprising quantity of meat.

Recipe:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_30571,00.html?rsrc=search

Paraphrased:
Place 1 large smoked turkey leg (about 1.5 lbs) in 1 qt. water in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Cover, bring to a boil, simmer 10 minutes.

In the meantime, wash, trim, and chop 2 lbs. greens. Add greens, 1 tsp. salt, and 1 tsp sugar to pot. Simmer, covered, over low heat 45 minutes until tender (stir everything around every 10 minutes or so). Taste and season.

I make a couple of tweaks: sometimes I use brown sugar, sometimes I'll add some garlic powder (I consider this strictly llazy food), usually I add a splash of cider vinegar and/or hot sauce at the end.

Also, I like to use my pressure cooker for this, ready in about 20 minutes.

My collards are the one recipe that my friends and family are always asking me for, so here goes.

1 big bunch or two small bunches collards
6-8 cloves fresh garlic
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
salt & pep & cayenne
pinch of sugar

Wash collards under cold running water well. Pat each leaf dry with paper or clean cloth towel. Slice collards into 1 to 1 ½ inch thick ribbons across the leaf, leaving the rib intact.

Strip garlic cloves of skin, smash under flat of knife blade, then chop into tiny dice.

Get about ¼ inch of olive oil hot in saute pan, but not smoking. Flick some water in there and if it sizzles, it’s ready. Dump in about a teaspoon’s worth of the garlic and slide it around. As soon as it softens, dump in a fistful of the sliced collards. KEEP THE HEAT ON HIGH. Saute like crazy mad. When the first fistful wilts, add another, and another teaspoon of garlic. Salt, pepper and cayenne them well (I like mine pretty hot n’salty). Add more oil if you need it. About halfway through, toss in the pinch of sugar. Keep tossing and sauteing like you're muchas bananas, adding collards and garlic until they’re gone.

If you do this right, you will end up with a lovely mix of crunchy, fried greens that are a little charred, and bright green wilted ones that are moist. The whole process takes about 10 -15 minutes. Serve immediately, and eat ‘em up, because they don’t keep.

This recipe also works with other greens such as mustard and turnip greens, kale, and Swiss and red chard. Collards tend to turn out the best, though. Try mixing a few together for fun, (like dino kale and chards) and adjusting the garlic and spices to your liking.

Collard greens are a staple on Brazilian tables and you couldn't serve a feijoada without a side of "couve a mineira" [Minas-style collard greens].

Take a big bunch of cleaned collards or kale and remove/discard thick center rib. Chop your greens into very thin ribbons (less than an 1/8" thick). Best way to do that is that roll the greens into a bundle and chop away.

Put 2-3 tbsp olive oil in an iron skillet at med-high heat. Add 1-2 cloves chopped garlic and saute for 2 minutes.

Now add the finely chopped greens. Sprinkle them with salt to taste and several tablespoonsful of water. Stir and turn them over several times to mix. Now reduce the heat to med-low, cover and cook for 10 minutes.

You could add a dried hot pepper, too, at the moment you add the greens. It's not traditional, but it is delicious.