The Cookbook

The Cookbook was released in July 2005. Elliott worked with the Neptunes, Rich Harrison and Scott Storch, and only two songs were produced by Timbaland. She said that after six albums together, if she and Timbaland went any further left they would be on Mars. She explained the title by saying that each record has its own spices and herbs, and said she wanted the black and white cover to show she was taking music back to the roots.

It debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and was nominated for Best Rap Album, which went to Kanye West's Late Registration. The singles were Lose Control, Teary Eyed and We Run This. Alexis Petridis of the Guardian called the album a convincing return to form, and the Guardian's 2017 survey of her work called it her most underrated.