Dice potato into small ¼ inch cubes, place in a small pot of water, bring to a boil, and simmer on med-low for 15- 20 minutes or until tender.
Melt butter in a heavy bottom pot or dutch oven, over med-high heat, add diced onion, and stir for 2-3 minutes, turn the heat down to low and let onions caramelize slowly, while stirring occasionally.

Shuck the corn, wipe off the fine threads and cut kernels off by placing the corn on their side on the cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut downward. Rotate corn, and cut all the kernels off. You want 4 cups packed of corn kernels.  Add corn, garlic and thyme to the onions, turn heat up to medium-low, and stir occasionally for 5  minutes.

Char the jalapeno on an open flame, directly on your gas burner, or on a grill or in a hot cast iron skillet. You want the jalapeno to char, blister and blacken. Once blackened, wrap it in foil and let it steam for 5 minutes. Cut it in half, keeping as much char on as possible.

Finely dice ½ of the jalapeno (for garnish), leave the other half whole, set aside for blender.

Once the potatoes are done, strain and place in a blender. Add 3 cups of the corn-onion mixture, 2 cups chicken broth and half the jalapeno. REMEMBER- if placing hot liquid in the blender, cover tightly with the lid and a towel and while holding the lid on firmly, blend on the lowest setting ( to avoid a blender explosion) and gradually increase the speed to medium-high, blending until very smooth, about a full minute.

Pour this back into the pot. Add the remaining 2 cups of stock, spices, stir, and taste for salt. I added ¼ tsp kosher salt, but remember every chicken stock is different. You may need more or less. Bring to a simmer. Serve in bowls with fresh cilantro leaves, crumbled queso fresco cheese and a little charred jalapeño ( they are spicy so use a light hand).