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this is a no brainer...blanch it for 5 minutes in salted water to take the bitter out. Then simmer the hell out of it in chicken broth. If you think its been too long, cook it longer. Drain, squeeze dry and stir fry in as much fresh slivered garlic as you think is legal, olive oil, crushed red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Try to stop yourself from standing over the pan and eating forkfuls on crusty buttered italian bread.

If you really love the fam, make beans and greens...same process as above, only add 2 cans of rinsed white beans and a can of drained diced tomatoes. (try to get some really good tomatoes...it makes a world of difference). Serve that with a great but simple salad, hot cheesey garlic bread and a bowl of hot alfredo. YEOWZA.

Remember that you could fill up your bathtub with uncooked chard and it will cook down to barely a soup pot!

I've always cooked it pretty much the same as spinach, like billyburgwife & Chelly's first paragraph, but Chelley's recipe sounds so good! If I'm not using it in a dish, but as a side, I add garlic, red pepper and sometimes onion/shallots and occasionally raisins. It's good with mushrooms, too. A little nutmeg adds a special flavor note.

I don't know about everybody else, but I cut out the stem all the way into the leaf by making a big V. I believe it's edible, but it's really tough.

I cooked this yesterday and mean to put it on my blog, but I'll sum it up here. It was really good, much better than I expected, and scales up easily. The amounts below would serve 3-4 as a main, 4 as a side.

Trim and wash the chard (about a pound or so) and cut into thin strips (stack all the leave, roll, and slice). Heat a tbs olive oil in a saute pan and add 3 diced rashers of bacon, cook until crispy. Add a medium diced onion, a diced red bell pepper (better: a diced roasted red bell pepper), a tiny bit of rosemary or thyme, and cook till the onions softened. Add a pinch of chili flakes and 2-3 minced garlic cloves and cook till the garlic is just starting to get gold. Add the chard and turn with tongs until it's pretty wilted. Add a splash of water or stock (about 1/3-1/2 a cup) and season. Cover and simmer till it's tender, but to me, that's only about 8-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400F and rub a baking dish with garlic. Spray with nonstick or rub with butter or oil. When the greens are cooked, add 2 cups of cooked white beans (if canned, drain well, rinse them, even) and 1/4 to 1/2 cup of grated parmesan or asiago cheese. Mix and pour into the dish. Sprinkle over another dusting of grated cheese and some bread crumbs. Cover with foil, bake 40 minutes. Remove foil, bake 10 minutes till brown and crispy. Let it cool to edible temperature, then try not to eat the whole thing.

you can remove the stem and scatter the leaves on an oiled baking sheet. they'll become crispy after you bake them for a while, like potato chips.

blanch and shock them, then chop fine and squeeze. {remove stems.} saute shallots and garlic in olive oil until they're transparent, add salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, a pinch of thyme, and the chard. cook it for a few minutes until it's heated through, then add a big dollop of creme fraiche, a squeeze of lemon juice, and a few gratings of nutmeg.

Oooh, I made it last night from a cookbook called "Harlem Really Cooks". It was so simple - a couple of tbsp. of EVOO (lol sorry), two cloves of sliced garlic, a bunch of scallions and 3 bunches of the chard. You just saute' it until it wilts and gets dark green - the color of wet leaves. Salt and pepper to taste - awesome.

I use it a lot in stir-frys and other quick-sautee dishes. Here's what I made for Valentine's day to rave reviews from my husband.

Sausage, Heirloom Tomatoes & Swiss Chard with Parmesan Farro Risotto

2 tbsp. olive oil
4 sausage links (again, I like Aidells)
1 bunch Swiss Chard, stems removed and washed
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 large, purple heirloom tomato, chopped
1/4 cup stock (I used beef)
pinch dried and ground chipotle pepper

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook until it browns and gets slightly crunchy then add the tomatoes, garlic, chipotle pepper and stock. Simmer for 2 - 3 minutes, then add the chard and toss for a few more minutes until the green begin to wilt. Serve over Parmesan Farro Risotto and garnish with some freshly shaved Parmesan cheese.