commended Santos for leaving her comfort zone with her role in Sabel. Santos received a Metro Manila Film Festival nomination for the film. After a one-year absence on screen, Santos appeared in three productions in 2006. Her first release was Don't Give Up on Us, a romantic drama set in Baguio and Sagada that reunited her with Bernal and Pascual. Rito Asilo of the Philippine Daily Inquirer lauded Santos's growth in acting versatility and comedy, while Butch Francisco from The Philippine Star asserted that "more than the romance and this wonderful lecture on life... it is her [Santos] acting discipline that helps make this film succeed as a light romantic drama." She returned to television in the drama series Sa Piling Mo. Santos's final release, Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo, ranks among the most acclaimed of her career. In Jose Javier Reyess comedy drama, she starred opposite Ryan Agoncillo as the outspoken wife of Agoncillo's character, and the problems that arise as she interacts with her family and in-laws. Critic Nestor Torre Jr. wrote that Santos gave a "gutsy and felt performance", while Asilo praised her "honest-to-goodness portrayal", and said the film "strikes the appropriate emotional tone even as they juggle comedy and light drama". The film became her biggest commercial success to date, earning million (million) at the box office. Santos was awarded the FAMAS, Golden Screen, Luna, Metro Manila Film Festival, and Star Award for Best Actress. To prepare for her role as a vindictive chef in Ysabella (2007), Santos took a four-month culinary course at the Center for Asian Culinary Studies. Santos said working on the show helped "hone her skills in these two fields" and proved that she "can also do something aside from acting". She was later cast in Topel Lees horror thriller Ouija (2007) alongside Jolina Magdangal, Iza Calzado, and Rhian Ramos. The film was met with mixed reviews; Philip Cu-Unjieng of The Philippine Star wrote, "There is nothing earth-shaking in the treatment of the material or the performances he [Lee] elicits from the ensemble." Jocelyn Dimaculangan, however, noted Santos's "restrained performance". Her final appearance that year was in the comedy drama Sakal, Sakali, Saklolo, the sequel to Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo. The response from critics was overwhelmingly negative; the Philippine Daily Inquirer Nestor Torre Jr. dismissed the film for its "thrice-told plots and exhausted stellar performances", while Asilo stated that it "meanders into a list of