Yup, that sounds like the mystery NEI bug...
Does it only happen when you look up the recipe of a item in NEI first?
Exactly!
For example, I can use any planks to make crafting table, but if I check crafting possibilities, seems that oredict is purged and only one type of plank can be used. It is not just a graphic glitch, recipes are not working.
But it is clearly related with IC2, because problem persist only if oredict are called in ic2 recipes, once removed, everything is OK.