Yeah they took place. Gregory was later confirmed. Pickering wasn't, I don't know what his status is. I think he's gone by now.
There have been hundreds of recess appointments.
They're not usual, but not rare.
(from internet)
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had undergone chemotherapy and radiation treatment for her colon cancer. Her sigmoid colon was removed on September 11, 1999 for what had been classified as stage-2 cancer. About 75% of stage-2 colon cancer patients are cured. The treatments began in October, 1999 and ended in June of 2000. The classification system rates the cancers up to stage-4. The sigmoid colon makes up the lower third of the large intestine. It now turns out that the original diagnosis of diverticulitis may also have been correct. The operating surgeon, Dr. Lee Smith discovered a perforation in her upper bowel that was non-malignant. It has been estimated that most patients in Justice Ginsburg's condition need at least 4 to 6 weeks to recuperate from this type of surgery.