gcolyer - if that really happened and I knew that the cloud didn't go all the way to the ground, I'd prefer to pull the stick back, hoof in some rudder and spin through the overcast layer until I could see the ground then recover. My fwd distance would be minimal, my descent rate not silly high and as I intentionally entered the spin I'd know exactly what to do to recover from it.
I'm sure that this was recovery was taught to military aviators between the two world wars.