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Making the sage bread stuffing:
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Turn the oven on to 225F.
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Spread the bread slices in a single layer on the oven rack, keeping them a little apart.
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Set the kitchen timer for 35 minutes.
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When the bell rings turn the slices over with tongs or a fork.
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Let the bread dry out 15 more minutes and then take a slice and break it in half If it is still soft in the middle, put it back and let the bread dry out 15 more minutes.
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Dry bread has much better taste and texture than fresh bread when it is baked in a stuffing.
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When the bread is completely dry, take it out of the oven and put it in a large bowl.
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Use your hands to break up the bread into lots of little pieces.
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Cut each of the 2 celery stalks lengthwise into 3 long pieces.
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Then cut these crosswise into small pieces.
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Put the chopped celery into a small bowl.
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Trim off the stem end of the onion and the fuzzy little roots.
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Peel off the papery outside skin.
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Cut the onion in half from the top, stem end to the bottom, root end.
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Put the onion halves on a cutting board, cut side down.
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Cut each half crosswise into about 8 slices, and then cut the slices into thirds so you end up with lots of small pieces.
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Put the chopped onion into the bowl with the celery.
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Set a medium-sized skillet on the stove burner and turn on the heat to medium-low.
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Put the 4 tablespoons butter into the skillet, and when it has melted a little, tilt the skilletup, down, and around, so the that the melted butter covers the bottom.
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Add the chopped celery and onion to the skillet, and stir them around with a big spoon, spreading them evenly around the skillet.
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Cook and stir for about 3 minutes, until the onion has softened a little.
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Test to see if it has softened by taking a few pieces of onion out with the spoon, letting them cool a minute, and tasting to see if the onion has lost its crispness.
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If it hasnt, keep cooking and stirring and test again in 2 minutes.
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When the celery and onion have cooked, add them to the bowl of bread pieces.
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Add the 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and the dried 1 1/2 teaspoons or 1 tablespoon fresh sage.
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If youre using dried sage, taste a little pinch of it, and if it doesnt much flavor, add an extra teaspoon.
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Mix the stuffing with your hands, reaching to the bottom of the bowl and tossing, so all the flavors mingle with the bread.
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Drizzle the 1/2 cup broth or water over the stuffing.
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Toss and mix the stuffing lightly with your hands again, until all the ingredients are moist and well mixed.
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The stuffing should not be wet, just softened and damp.
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Taste and add a little more salt, pepper, or sage, if needed.
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Preparing the chicken:
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Turn the oven on to 425F.
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Make sure the oven rack is in the middle of the oven.
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Wash the chicken halves under cold running water.
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Pat them dry with paper towels.
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You need a baking pan or an ovenproof baking dish large enough for the 2 chicken halves to sit side by side without crowding.
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Grease the pan with a little vegetable shortening.
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Divide the stuffing in half.
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Make 2 rounded mounds of stuffing at either end of the baking dish.
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Salt and pepper the skin of each chicken half.
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Put each half on top of a mound of stuffing.
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Set aside while you prepare the vegetables.
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Preparing the vegetables:
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Slice off the stem top and root tip of the 4 carrots.
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Hold each carrot by its thick top with one hand and with the other, hold a vegetable peeler.
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Slide the peeler down from the top where you are holding the carrot to the bottom digging in just enough to remove the peel.
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Turn the carrot and repeat until the whole carrot is peeled.
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Cut each carrot into 4 pieces and put them into an ovenproof casserole dish with a lid.
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Trim, peel, and cut the 2 onions in half the way you did to the onion for the stuffing.
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Then cut each onion half in two crosswise, so you end up with 8 pieces of onion.
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Add the onions to the carrots in the casserole.
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Wash the 8 small potatoes and dry with paper towels.
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Dont peel them.
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If they are larger than a golf ball, cut them in half.
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Add them to the casserole with the onions and carrots.
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Put the 3 tablespoons butter and 1/4 cup water into a small saucepan and turn the heat on to medium.
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Stir while the butter melts and mixes with the water.
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As soon as the butter and water are blended, remove from the heat, and pour the liquid over the vegetables in the casserole.
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Lightly salt and pepper the vegetables.
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Stir the vegetables with a large spoon so every vegetable is coated with the butter and water mixture.
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Put the lid on the casserole.
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Put the chicken and the vegetables in the oven at the same time.
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If you have to, place the vegetable casserole behind the chickenbut both should be on the middle rack.
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Set the timer for 45 minutes.
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When the bell rings, using pot holders, take the chicken dish from the oven and put it on the stove top.
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With the tip of a small paring knife, cut into a chicken leg at the joint between the drumstick and the thigh, cut into a chicken leg at the joint between the drumstick and the thigh.
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If the juices are clear, the chicken is done.
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If the juices are pink or red, put the dish back into the oven and cook 15 minutes more.
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When the chicken is done, care fully take the pan out of the oven with pot holder and put it on the stove top or another heat-proof surface.
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The stuffing around the edges of the chicken will be crisp and dark brown; the stuffing under the chicken will be moist and soft.
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Take out the vegetable dish with pot holders and put it nearby.
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With your serrated knife, cut each chicken half in two, cutting between the leg and the wing to make 4 portions.
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Dish up a portion of chicken, stuffing, and vegetables on each plate, and serve.
