Preheat oven to 325°

1 -In a large bowl, combine crumbled cornbread, dried bread pieces, and saltines; mix together and set aside. In a large pot, cook celery and onion in butter until transparent, about 5 to 10 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, add onion and celery mixture to cornbread mixture. Add the chicken stock, salt, pepper, sage, and poultry seasoning and blend together. Add beaten eggs and mix well. 

(*Reserve 2 tablespoons of this for the giblet gravy.)

2 - Prepare your turkey:  Be sure and remove giblets... (they hide them in the neck and in the cavity of the bird).  You can use these to make giblet gravy - (recipe below).   Rinse the turkey well, inside and out, including the neck and cavity areas; drain and pat dry.  Loosely stuff some of the dressing into the neck area, then pull the neck skin over the opening  and secure with a small skewer or a couple of tooth picks.  Next, spoon more stuffing into the body cavity.  Secure the drumsticks under the band of skin that crosses the tail, and then tuck the wing tips underneath the back.  Place remaining dressing into a 2-quart baking dish that has been buttered well and set into refrigerator until time to cook it.

3 - Place breast side up on a rack in a large roasting pan.  Coat the entire outer surface of bird with vegetable oil.  Insert thermometer in turkey thigh without touching the bone.   Roast for 3 to 3 1/2 hours or until thermometer reaches 180°.   Baste often!   If the outer skin is browning too quickly, you can cover with foil if necessary. 

4 - Bake the dressing that was placed in the 2-quart baking dish during the last 30 minutes. 

5 - Let the turkey stand for about 20 minutes before carving.  This gives the juices time to redistribute.

Cornbread

1 cup self-rising cornmeal
1/2 cup self-rising flour
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350° degrees F.